6 practical ideas you can take to get your organisation to declare
1. build stakeholder support
map your stakeholders
Consider who can help you deliver your climate change ambitions, both internally and externally. Work with your suppliers, customers or clients, your legal and financial advisors and communities of other leading organisations in the fight against climate change, such as B Corporations.
find your internal allies
Start conversations about the climate and ecological emergency internally. Develop cross-functional internal buy-in and seek support from colleagues
in senior leadership, sustainability, finance, procurement, HR, legal, R&D, manufacturing and marketing.
tell your personal story
Share your personal story of what the climate crisis means and any changes you’ve made in your personal life to reflect the urgency with which we must all act.
2. get executive leadership team agreement & declare
be clear about what declaring entails
A declaration means making a public statement and being transparent about progress. It involves the Executive Leadership Team openly acknowledging the climate and ecological emergency and committing to action.
draft a declaration
Use this sample declaration as a template for the Executive Leadership Team to vote on. Find allies on the Executive Leadership Team sub committees to support your case. Add the climate emergency to the agenda for a future board meeting.
plan what happens after declaring
A declaration is not a one-off statement. It requires a long-term commitment and plan to address climate change and act with appropriate urgency. Commit to developing a Climate Emergency Plan with tangible and specific actions and a process for monitoring success.
3. develop a Climate Emergency Plan
a Climate Emergency Plan
Outline how you will accelerate climate action, set targets and advocate for change. The plan will reflect the size and complexity of your business and its supply chain.
understand your footprint
Measure and report your carbon footprint for your operations, supply chain and use of your products (scopes 1, 2, 3 of the GHG protocol).
align your ambition
Please change to ‘set science-based targets to accelerate your current trajectory in line with what is needed to set a challenging net zero target, which accelerates action towards 2030 and keeps the planet within 1.5°C. Set targets for biodiversity and social justice. Define specific actions to meet your goals and influence others (suppliers, customers, peers) to extend your impact.
publish the plan
Seek Executive Leadership Team sign-off within 6 months of declaring an emergency and make your plan public.
4. engage your staff
listen to employees
Start open conversations with employees through lunches and company-wide meetings. Listen to their concerns and gather their ideas to find new opportunities to address the climate emergency.
provide training
Support staff to increase their knowledge on environmental issues and give them the skills to integrate climate change considerations into every aspect of their work. We offer Climate Emergency workshops
encourage behaviour change
Update policies to encourage and reward employees to choose plant based food options,
low carbon travel, increase recycling or save energy and other resources. Switch company pension investments to environmentally responsible providers.
5. advocate for change
collaborate
Look for opportunities to share your learning and partner with others to increase your impact, through business networks such as Business Declares, the B Corp Climate Collective and industry associations.
raise your voice
Influence your investors, suppliers, customers and other company stakeholders to promote climate action. Use your brand to advocate for wider collective action and promote legislative and systemic change in line with keeping global temperature increases below 1.5°C.
review public policy and advocacy
Review how you engage with local and national government and policymakers and ensure your lobbying activities and trade association memberships are aligned with your climate emergency plan.
6. monitor and embed
be transparent on progress
Continuously monitor environmental metrics and report progress against your Climate Emergency Plan annually.
review governance
Ensure you have the right governance structures and reporting lines in place to maintain Executive Leadership Team oversight and accountability for your Climate Emergency Plan and report progress to the Executive Leadership Team regularly.
incentivise staff
Consider how remuneration, reward schemes and bonuses can encourage climate action across the company. Align personal development and performance reviews with your climate agenda.