Situating businesses as agents of climate action solutions

By Peter Makwanya | Jul. 17, 2023 | 4 Min read

Peter Makwanya is a climate change communicator.

BUSINESSES to do with climate change mitigation and adaptation are quite diverse.

In this business community there are those categorised as main polluting actors who mine fossils and burn them.

There are those which regulate carbon emissions, those which manufacture a wide range of green technologies and those which provide climate change consultancy services, research and innovation.

Some businesses are both into burning fossil fuels and manufacturing green energy technologies, including investing in carbon markets, net zero and waste recycling, among others.

The businesses highlighted above are all in business and their reason for being in climate-related business is to make profit. They have their own language of communication.

Main polluting businesses — those that are into fossil fuel mining and energy, unsustainable agriculture, transport, land use degradation — talk of production, profits and dividends.

Businesses into climate change mitigation and adaptation talk of regulating carbon emissions, reforestation, reduction of extreme heat, conservation and fighting biodiversity loss.

Businesses which are into manufacturing of green technologies, talk about energy efficient goods and services, renewable energy transition, net zero, decarbonisation and the effects of global warming.

Keep Reading

The Paris Agreement was not done in isolation, but with businesses in mind, as rallying points for businesses and global warming. The Paris Agreement focused on those businesses which are into polluting and have contributed to global warming. These businesses have demonstrated lack of ambition in regulating climate change.

The agreement also put main emphasis on businesses which regulate pollutions by investing into activities that tackle climate change impacts.

These businesses have demonstrated desire and ambition to adapt and mitigate global climate change impacts.

Within the framework of the identified businesses, there are some which have exploited the Paris Agreement procedural gaps to do both, that is to continue mining fossil fuels while investing in green technologies, mitigation and adaptation at the same time.

Furthermore, they have invested into language and communication to establish the new global climate communication order including bribing unsuspecting audiences through greenwashing and green talk.

As such, the whole discourse of climate change has become a hive of contrasting, contesting and clashing ideas, which inhibit progress in realising climate actions and solutions.

While climate audiences and beneficiaries expect to hear progressive voices from businesses that are engaged in climate action strategies, these businesses are measured by their sustainability reporting, guided by environmental and social governance.

These also include issues of disclosure regarding levels of corporate social responsibility (CSR), while situating the environment as a key enabling factor in sustainable development.

Businesses engaged in climate action strategies also include those into waste recovery, recycling and re-use. These are the businesses which change waste into business opportunities. In this regard, what has been discarded can be sorted out into vital goods and services which contribute to a secular economy both in the waste and construction sectors.

All these play key roles in managing carbon emissions, renewing and re-using materials by bringing them into the market once again. The circular economy in the construction sector enables businesses to make buildings resilient, secure, minimise costs and save lives. The circular economy eliminates waste and drives business.

The comprehensive and diverse nature of the role of businesses in managing carbon emissions or accelerating them, help people to visualise climate change in terms of business practices and operations.

A wide range of business concerns in the agricultural, energy, transport, manufacturing and forestry sectors, among others, are bound by climate change ethics. These are important in managing climate risks such as runaway carbon emissions, energy consumption and generation, mitigation and adaptation.

Banks are also into climate change mitigation, adaptation and corporate social responsibility, including evaluating their portfolios and clients’ exposure to climate physical risks, providing loans, funding CSR and making investment decisions accordingly.

While businesses are so wide and diverse globally, why is it difficult for businesses to engage in genuine collaborative initiatives, manage and mitigate climate risks globally?

A critical analysis of these businesses’ operations with regards to climate action strategies reveals that most of the actions they take are voluntary rather than regulated or enforced.

Lack of proper enforcement has led the majority of global businesses, large, small and multinationals, to invest in linguistic chicanery, winding language games, sugar-coating and greenwashing.

While it is the duty of businesses to act, protect, restore and conserve nature through carbon markets and credits to halt and reverse biodiversity loss globally, businesses need to take leading roles to situate climate actions at the heart of their operations.

Business voices continue to be crucial as mouthpieces of business for nature. While these are important, there is need for collaborations between businesses and governments. In this regard, governments are regulatory authorities which provide an enabling environment for transformation.

Therefore, governments should be seen as part of the climate solutions rather than as stumbling blocks themselves.

To be agents of climate action solutions and ambassadors for nature and conservation, businesses need to be sincere, invest in absolute climate ethics and corporate social responsibility which contribute to building strong institutions and infrastructure.

Peter Makwanya is a climate change communicator. He writes in his personal capacity and can be contacted on: [email protected].