The Critical Implications Of Climate Change For Business

One change that has to be made in industries is to burn less fossil fuels, reducing greenhouse gases. According to James E. Hansen, in the article, “Climate Change is Here - And Worse Than We Thought” he says, “ We can solve the challenge of climate change with a gradually rising fee on carbon

In the contemporary world, the importance of the environment, human lives in, which was always debatable, has now become controversial. The substantial influence of global warming has sparked the controversy over the potential impact of this trend on climate change in recent years. It can be agreed that governments as a more powerful body is responsible to control this unwanted change, however, multitude individuals claim that all companies and citizens themselves are part of the solution. This essay will examine all arguments on this contentious issue under scrutiny prior to reaching an informed conclusion.

According to Mindy S. Lubber president of Ceres, “many U.S. companies today are still downplaying the possible risks of climate change and its far-reaching business impacts.” Still using fossil fuels and releasing carbon dioxide in large amounts will have large effects on the Earth, if companies aren’t careful. The idea of global warming has been around in the United States for many years. In fact, climate change has had effects on people and the environment for a while, and it may continue. The companies use fossil fuels for energy to receive the positive business effects that they give. However, companies are already starting to see consequences for releasing too much carbon dioxide. Companies

The grave, yet subtle, danger that large corporations put the world in is one that not many companies are committed to fixing. Large companies use substantial amounts of water, energy, fossil fuels, etc. and have almost depleted important resources. The Target Corporation has worked tirelessly to improve their environmental standings and therefore, increase the overall well-being of the world. Target, the second-largest discount retailer in the United States, with Walmart being the largest, has set goals year after year to change their consumption habits and increase their environmental sustainability. While Target has many environmentally friendly products and practices, the company has also committed some infractions, making many skeptical

Action to sharply reduce our global warming emissions can greatly curtail the costs of climate change, especially over the longer term. For example, climate action can help numerous businesses that are vulnerable to a changing climate, from maple sugaring in the Northeast and skiing in Colorado to vital energy and transportation companies that depend on offshore oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico and shipping on the Great Lakes.

As climate change poses threat to business, it has also been discovered that climate change and the need to drive down carbon emissions create good business opportunities for small and medium scale enterprises and entrepreneurs

While corporations are driven by the vast engine of consumer satisfaction, many are also responsible for significant environmental destruction (VanDeVeer and Pierce 546). Since business always aim to increase revenue

Despite the fact that the firms have been more inclined towards ensuring sustainability using renewable energy and the governments have instilled regulations to ensure that firms comply with the multitude of environmental rules and standards, the carbon footprint of the world has increased. Per a report published by the World Bank, the C02 emissions in 2000 was 4.034 metric tons per capita and in 2015 it increased to 4.996 metric tons per capita (C02 emissions, The World Bank). Even though the C02 emissions are increasing with a decreasing pace, the per year value has still gone up over the last 10 years. This indicates that while green businesses and a sustainable mindset has been the norm in organizations and their cultures, it still has not led to a fall in carbon emissions per year. The right mindset will aid the step in the right direction but the right execution is what will yield sustainable results.

According to fastcoexist.com, Bloomberg finance reports are ranking and keeping an eye on the most innovative and groundbreaking organizations of the United States making concerned efforts adapting to climate change within their respective markets. The rankings follow how hundreds of organizations with more than $1 billion in assets are mitigating climate change related risks, managing carbon emissions, and creating clean-tech solutions, and new products. Exxon Mobil and Hess Corporation are a part of the rankings, which offer investors a view at how responsible these and other organizations are in regard to the above and the effects that the climate has on them.

As climate change becomes a topic of interest for the corporate boardrooms of the modern world, there are signs of a growing awareness of the finiteness of the planet’s resources among today’s entrepreneurial minds. Few of these minds occupy administrative positions in PepsiCo’s chain of command, and the company follows suit with its strategic efforts at sustainability. Having already surpassed their 2006 target of 20 percent by the end of 2015, the company managed to reduce water use per unit by 23 percent by 2014 (PepsiCo Inc., 2015). Moreover, in improving water efficiency, the company decreased absolute water use by 1 billion liters (PepsiCo Inc., 2015). In addition, the company also surpassed their aim of sending 10 percent of

Microsoft, a $69.3 billion dollar technology company, prides itself on its carbon neutrality and its ownership of its environmental impact. The company’s carbon neutral initiative is simplified to: “Be Green + Be Lean + Be Accountable = Carbon Neutral.” Being green is reducing air travel, reducing overall energy consumption. Being lean is investing capital in new renewable energy projects, reducing waste and water. Being accountable is setting a price signal on carbon to internalize external impacts, emission tracking software, employee environmental sustainability programs. Microsoft implements an internal carbon fee, placing a price on carbon and reducing each division 's reliance on the unsustainable resource.

The topic of climate change is an on-going debate between organisations as it is “the greatest long-term challenge facing the international community” (Exhibit 11). And with a contribution of 25.9% of CO2 emissions, which is the highest amongst all sectors (Exhibit 11), it collides with Generation’s philosophy of maintaining investments within solely environmentally friendly companies.

This replaces the production of oxygen and clean air, with poisonous greenhouse gases.With all the toxic exposure of carbon dioxide polluting the air “multiple lines of scientific evidence show that Earth’s global average surface temperature has risen some 1.3°F since 1850” (Ecological 4). Industries in the world today are well aware of the effect their production companies have on the environment, but as long as profit is involved, there is no stopping them. Studies show that “if “business as usual” practices continue, climate change in coming decades will be exceptionally rapid, much more rapid on a sustained global basis than the transitions into and out of past ice ages” (Ecological 38).

Intro: This report will aim to define responsible business, in relation to the vast range of topics such as Corporate social Responsibility/Corporate Citizenship, sustainability, whilst comparing these through academia and their different meanings relating to Responsible Business. Furthermore, this report will also aim to critically analyse climate change and its effect in relation to making Business more responsible as well as the drawbacks/opportunities this holds for business. Finally, this report will exploit the relation between government and Business; identify possible barriers for businesses through government via academic views and evidential impacts on businesses and how government supports business to create a more sustainable world, through incentives such as the climate change Act 2008.

A major threat in an economy comes from climate change. Excessive rain or warmer than expected winters, increase the risk for a lot of companies, mainly in the solar and energy sector, and ultimately affects their revenues. As the wind and solar industry continues to grow, investors are injecting more capital in order to organize this industry by way of decreasing the risks inherent to it. Accordingly, and as more money is invested in these markets, more investors and stakeholders are looking for better risk management techniques that could protect their assets and ensure a steady flow in revenue.