How is climate change putting pressure on business?

 

There’s no getting away from it. All economic, social and health challenges are ultimately framed within our relationship with the planet’s resources and there are many effects that increasing environmental crisis is having on human activity.

 

Some are more immediate, short term problems demanding attention from CFOs and Sustainability Managers, and some are longer term that also need preparing for. While social impact champions have to bring a very connected outlook to their role, for many people they are interacting with it’s still hard to see the realities and opportunities of the climate crisis and economic transition. But first contact is already happening across business, showing up as pressures from outside an organisation and within, including:

• emissions reduction regulation.
• cap and trade tariffs.
• energy transition costs.
• divestments and market valuation shifts.
• digital transformation, especially increased home working.
• automation.
• changing property assets and relocations.
• higher costs for goods and services.
• whole supply chain resilience.
• changing weather pattern demands, dangers and damage.
• changing customer behaviours.
• changing society pressures and brand perceptions.
• workforce health, engagement and adaptability.
• new, younger workforce attraction.
• innovation and scoping.
• longer term resilience strategies.

There is a lot to do. The changes in society are profound, and all of us are being increasingly affected, but it can be hard to help others see it clearly around us, or what might be coming ahead.

Momo believes that all of these challenges are ultimately cultural – behaviours driven by ways of seeing the world. And that to truly have impact, we need to create experiences to trigger emotional impact. So seeing these issues in a more connected way, brought alive with inspiring theatre, can help us unlock new ways of seeing everything.

 

Not just the environment nerd’s job.

Tackling these impacts isn’t simply the role of the resident Sustainability Manager. Or even something an ESG consultancy can bring in on their own – it’s a complete company thing. An every worker job, that ultimately feeds a total brand story – the immediate impression of a body when you think of it. But this doesn’t have to mean some impossible conformity drive facing managers – it’s more helpful to imagine that anyone can live it where they are. Anyone can embody social impact honestly and spark new relationships across departments and resources in little daily ways. And such practice tends to spark an essential ingredient in any organisation: Passion.

“I could talk about this all day, honestly” said Hexagon MI’s President of Design and Engineering Software, Roger Assaker, when I asked him about the impact of sustainability issues on his teams; “it gets me passionate.”

A way for anyone in an organisation to consider where to start telling a bigger story relevant to planet crisis times is to simply consider the key business competencies, values and priorities. As Social Impacter at Lob.com Christine Louie Dyer puts it: “What problems are your leadership team trying to solve? What are your products or people uniquely positioned to do?” Starting from the truth of who your team, your customers, your audience are is always the way into managing change.

And it’s also a central principle of good storytelling – something people are in clear need of in times of crisis.

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