Business Declares: Three Years On

Why is the scale of response to the climate emergency so tragically inadequate?

Business Declares launched three years ago in September 2019, amid a wave of climate protests. We are a network of over 100 businesses, large and small across multiple sectors, that are making a stand for urgent climate and ecological action and social justice.

Three years on, we are horrified to see the speed and acceleration of tipping points to climate breakdown – extreme heat, wildfires, droughts, floods, and famine around the world. These events are happening sooner with even more devastating consequences than scientists predicted. We are heading towards climate collapse, with even less time to mitigate than we had hoped.

But we are even more shocked by the lack of emergency response from most governments and businesses.

Compounding this, the war in Ukraine and the global energy crisis are driving up the cost of living and inflation in Europe. We are very concerned about the knee jerk reaction to expand fossil fuel exploration, leading us even closer to the precipice of climate collapse.

Therefore, we are asking, what will it take for leaders to wake up to the deep societal changes which are needed?

There is still time, but we need to act now.

What we are doing is not enough.

A new chapter of political and business leadership is needed now on a global scale.

• What is the political leadership, regulatory and policy architecture needed to drive more impactful actions from governments, businesses, and citizens to tackle the underlying climate and energy crisis?

• What new operating models can be implemented to ensure business supply chains respond to the global climate reality and drive climate justice?

• Infinite growth on a finite planet cannot continue. What could a new model of production and consumption look like that enables a well-being economy which operates within planetary boundaries?

As climate leaders meet in New York, we’re calling on all business leaders to speak out and take action to be on the right side of history.

We all need to take a lead on much bolder, faster action.

We ask you to share the news on the acceleration of the global tipping points to ensure everyone is aware.

We ask you to keep speaking out about the urgency of the climate crisis to your colleagues, friends and business networks.

We must galvanize the voice of business to get political action, please join us and share this statement on social media.