Climate Innovation Network

The EU Nature Restoration Law has passed. This is what you need to know 👇 In a close vote that nearly failed at the final hurdle, the EU Nature Restoration Law was passed on June 17th, and sets legally binding targets to restore at least 20% of the EU’s land and sea by the end of the decade. Since regulators are getting serious about nature and biodiversity, if businesses want to maximize future opportunities, they will need to understand how their operations rely on and impact nature. Organizations should take the following the steps: 🌱 Develop a base knowledge of nature and biodiversity. Although nature is very locally specific, and can function in highly complex ways, decoding key terms and getting familiar with words and phrases like biome and nature-positive will offer useful initial footing for future analysis. The TNFD provides an extensive glossary of terms used and various guidance documents to support firms. 🌱 Understand regulatory exposure. To develop a nature-related strategy and appropriately prioritize, firms will need to understand compliance requirements, timelines and the granularity of required disclosures. Conduct an assessment of dependencies, impacts, risks and opportunities. By understanding how material nature and biodiversity is to your business, firms can start to both meet disclosure requirements and plan remedial actions and risk mitigation measures. 🌱 Direct investment towards nature-related opportunities. After taking a baseline assessment and understanding the regulatory landscape, shifting from a compliance focus to competitive advantage can ensure you make the most of the changing policy agendas. This may translate as developing environmentally conscious products, engaging in the biodiversity credit market or investing in specific restoration projects. Get more insights on the Climate Innovation Network: https://lnkd.in/eq9iyb3J #NatureLaw #RegulatoryCompliance #ClimateNews #GreenBusiness #SustainabilityStrategy #ESG

Don't get accused of greenwashing 😳 Today's #FAQFriday looks at how to avoid the risks of ‘avoided’ emissions - don't get caught out! Q: 'Avoided' emissions: what are the risks? A: While it may be tempting to draw on Scope 4 initiatives to illustrate greenhouse gas reductions, doing so could open the doors to major reputational risks. Beware of the following: - Inability to quantify accurately: Scope 4 emissions are measured by comparing the performance of a less carbon-intensive product with a reference product or service. With greenwashing litigation on the rise, this metric comes up against increasing pressure for any corporate sustainability claims to be robust and auditable. - Greenwashing accusations: Due to their theoretical nature, claims of avoided emissions are susceptible to scepticism. - Limited strategic value: As avoided emissions cannot be conflated with actions that directly reduce an organization's carbon footprint, their strategic impact is limited. Find out more: https://lnkd.in/ea85E348 #Scope4 #Greenwashing #SustainableBusiness #CorporateSustainability #CorporateResponsibility #NetZero

Wondering how to get your employees engaged with sustainability strategy? We've got you covered! 🌱 Q: How can I engage employees throughout my organization in sustainable strategy? A: Climate and sustainability leaders note that engagement takes time, but that a vital first step is mapping key stakeholders. Subsequently, sustainability teams should then build relationships with these stakeholders as soon as possible, while using terminology that is familiar to employees in other departments. To go beyond this, firms can offer external training to further educate employees on sustainability topics, as we’ve seen from organizations like HSBC and Starbucks. Find out more on the Climate Innovation Network: https://lnkd.in/euEKZcV5 #CorporateSustainability #SustainabilityStrategy #ESG #GreenBusiness

Tech giants Google, Meta, Microsoft, and Salesforce pledge 20 million tonnes of carbon removal credits by 2030. #carbonremovals #carbonmarket #carboncredits #symbiosiscoalition

Diageo accelerates towards net zero goals with €100 million investment to decarbonize the Guinness brewery. #netzero #decarbonization #sustainability #carbonemissions #renewableenergy

What does the delay on the EU’s Nature Restoration Law mean for you? In a nutshell, your firm isn't off the hook! Q: What does the delay on the EU’s Nature Restoration Law mean for me? A: In March 2024, voting on the EU’s landmark Nature Restoration Law (NRL) was postponed after eight Member States withdrew support. The proposed law would oblige Member States to restore 20% of land and sea habitat from poor to good condition by 2030, with this target increasing each decade, likely resulting in heightened governmental scrutiny of corporate impacts and initiatives on nature-related issues. The next opportunity for Member States to vote on the law is June 17th but it is unlikely that Member States will change their opinions by next month, as action once again lags behind ambition. While the results of the June vote will impact national commitments to restoring nature, corporate organizations are still being held accountable for their impacts on nature. In addition to reporting under the EU's Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR), some European nations are taking it a step further and mandating nature positive outcomes. For example, the UK's Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) regulation kicked in early this year, forcing developers to evidence at least 10% biodiversity net gain on all new developments. Other nations are likely to follow suit, so it is worth companies bearing in mind that this expectation isn't going away! Get further climate insights here: https://lnkd.in/euEKZcV5 #SustainableBusiness #GreenBusiness #ClimateNews #NatureRestoration #Regulations #RegulatoryRisk

Q: What poses the biggest risk to my firm’s decarbonization efforts? A: Weakening government policies. Here's why 👇 2024 will see 64 elections in the European Parliament, which altogether account for 44% of global emissions. The results of these elections pose the biggest risk to your decarbonization efforts - policy changes can make previously feasible targets unachievable. Governments are crucial to improving the business case for decarbonization through financial incentives, access to public funding and through the protection of low carbon products from cheaper alternatives. Without these interventions, corporate climate action can become prohibitively expensive: decarbonization entails substantial capital expenditure and investment in emerging technologies that are often less cost-effective. Find out more on the Climate Innovation Network: https://lnkd.in/enxRAq2K #NetZero #CorporateSustainability #GreenBusiness #Decarbonization #EmissionsTargets

70% of nature and environmental experts consider overall staffing levels too low and over 50% report vacancies in their teams. Find out how this impacts your corporate strategy 👇 Q: How does the climate skills gap impact corporate strategies to manage climate risk, carbon and biodiversity? A: A number of impacts are emerging for corporate strategies, including: - Analysis paralysis vs. digital reliance: Companies struggle to invest in climate risk analysis tools due to a lack of internal expertise. This can lead to over-reliance on digital solutions without fully understanding their use cases or hindering investment altogether. Consulting firms can offer valuable support and education to bridge this gap. - A learning curve with existing base: EHS and ESG teams have experience with emissions calculations, making them more comfortable adopting carbon management software. However, complex calculations and net-zero program management still require significant training. - A scramble for expertise: The new frontier of nature-related reporting is exposing a critical lack of corporate ecology skills. Both internal talent and external consultants are scarce, with consultancies rushing to launch dedicated practices to meet this rising demand. Find out more here: https://lnkd.in/eJThB8US #CorporateSustainability #SkillsGap #CorporateStrategy #ClimateStrategy #RiskManagement

Understanding your climate risk maturity is key to managing business risk. Get the info you need with this week's #FAQFriday 👇 Q: What do I need to know about climate risk maturity? A: Understanding climate risk maturity helps businesses recognize where they are regarding climate risk management and how to improve. When it comes to climate, firms have historically focused on reporting, disclosures and target-setting – but to reduce climate risks, it’s necessary to develop and implement concrete plans that address both physical and transition risks. Moving from backward-looking reports and high-level targets to forward-looking action is a challenge for many organizations. The maturity model provides a roadmap for firms to progress from reactive climate risk management to fully integrating climate into all business operations. Establishing strong internal climate governance that involves the board and C-Suite is an important step for advancing climate risk management. Furthermore, it is necessary to engage stakeholders from many parts of the business, such as the finance, legal, operations, procurement and risk departments. This helps to create buy-in and secure resources that will be necessary to move forward with other parts of climate risk management. Verdantix have been developing a climate risk maturity model that describes varying levels of maturity across climate risk use cases, such as crisis management/business continuity, reporting and disclosures, internal stakeholder engagement, planning and implementation. Find out more: https://lnkd.in/eMjUHuMq #ClimateRisk #CorporateSustainability #BusinessRisk #RiskManagement

For the many firms who have made climate commitments, the question is: “Now what?” Today's #FAQFriday talks you through 5 key pieces of advice for making a climate transition plan to achieve your goals 👇 Q: My firm has made climate commitments. What’s next? A: The next step is to make a transition plan. A transition plan lays out the targets, actions and resources that support an organization’s strategy for contributing to and preparing for a low-carbon, climate-resilient economy. The plan should be forward-looking and include clear steps to reduce emissions, as well as descriptions of the governance systems, risk management and other elements that enable success. 5 key pieces of advice are: 1. Start now, don't wait for perfect information. 2. Involve stakeholders across the organization, especially executives. 3. Align the transition plan with your overall business strategy. 4. Consider all the risks involved and how the global transition might affect you. 5. Be transparent and update the plan regularly. Find out more about what an effective plan looks like below. #CorporateSustainability #ClimateTransition #ClimateTargets