Discover The Power of Female Climate Leaders at #CTS2023

Shaping The Future of Climate Transformation at #CTS2023

On International Women’s Day, there is no better time to celebrate the incredible female climate leaders who are fighting for decarbonizing companies and their supply chains!

The CLIMATE TRANSFORMATION Summit 2023 brings together outstanding female climate experts for an online event you don’t want to miss. The theme this year is “Making it Happen,” and it will take place online on May 11th and 12th, 2023.

With 49% of confirmed speakers being female, this Summit is all about amplifying the voices of women driving climate transformation. And we are looking to bring the number up!

Why focus on female climate leaders? 

Studies have shown that women in leadership positions are more committed and effective in driving action on climate change than men (sources: UN Women & Global Gender and Climate Alliance). Female leaders assess risks differently compared to men and generally prioritize the well-being of society when making decisions.

And the impact of advancing women in climate action is huge. According to Project Drawdown, it has the potential to save 68.9 gigatons of CO₂e between 2020 and 2050. That’s why the CLIMATE TRANSFORMATION Summit 2023 is giving female climate leaders a special platform to share their insights.

Bringing transformation forward

These experts include Paula Caballero, the “inventor of the SDGs”, Anna Rathmann, Executive Director at the Jane Goodall Institute, and Sonya Bhonsle, Global Head of Value Chains at the Carbon Disclosure Project, among many others. 

In partnership with Futurewoman.de, a network for women in sustainability, the summit also brings together Yvonne Zwick, Executive Director of B.A.U.M. e. V., Katharina Reuter, Managing Director of the Bundesverband Nachhaltige Wirtschaft (BNW e. V.), Olivia Henke, Executive Director of the Foundation Alliance for Development and Climate, Yvonne Jamal, Chairwoman of the Board of Jaro Institut e. V., and Lara Obst, co-founder of the climate tech startup The Climate Choice.

Sandra Broschat, co-founder of Futurewoman.de, says it best:

“The female perspective and expertise are essential in the fight against the climate crisis. It is the biggest challenge of our time, we simply cannot afford not to actively use 50% of the know-how. Female leaders have a key role, as studies show they are particularly committed and consistent in implementing climate action compared to men.”

Claiming the mic to save the planet

The CLIMATE TRANSFORMATION Summit 2023 (#CTS2023) provides a stage for climate experts from diverse fields and perspectives. By doing so, the Summit not only promotes cross-sectoral knowledge transfer but also recognizes the vital role that women play in the fight against climate change.

Olivia Henke, Executive Director of the Foundation Alliance for Development and Climate, expresses the importance of coming together to tackle the climate crisis:

“We need every opportunity to come together, exchange ideas and learn from each other. The Climate Transformation Summit offers a great platform to achieve this goal. We are excited to be partners again.”

Katharina Reuter, Managing Director of BNW e. V., agrees, stating that:

“the Summit shines a spotlight on climate protection solutions – a perfect match with the BNW e. V..”

So mark your calendars for May 11th and 12th and get ready to be inspired by incredible female climate leaders. Let’s make a real difference in Making Transformation Happen in companies and their supply chains!

Don’t forget to get the lasts Early Bird Tickets here! The discounts ends this week.

How to generate Value from Supplier Climate Data

New reporting requirements and stakeholder expectations are driving large companies to collect climate-related information from their suppliers. Once they have overcome the first hurdle of collecting data along complex supply chains, they immediately face the next challenge. What do I do with all this supplier climate data now? How can I generate value for my company from it? How can it help me to achieve my sustainability targets?

This is what we learned at the CHOICE Event #52 from Neele Franke and Hugo Ernest-Jones from IBM Consulting. Here you will find the most important insights from their presentation.

Companies struggle with operationalizing climate strategies

When it comes to sustainability and climate efforts by large companies, it is striking that today many of them are already publicly committing to climate targets and developing strategies for their implementation. While most have ambitious plans, however, many are still struggling to operationalize them. A recent survey among over 2,000 CEOs worldwide revealed that 86% of companies have a sustainability strategy, but only 35% have acted on that strategy (Source: IBM Institute for Business Value (2022): Sustainability as a transformation catalyst).

So while the “What” seems to be rather clear, the “How” of getting it actually done remains a big challenge. Added to this is the increasing pressure and complexity of regulations and frameworks for corporate sustainability and climate disclosure. Regulators are mandating minimum levels of reporting – putting the responsibility onto corporations. They, in turn, have to find their way through the jungle of new standards and initiatives defining the most important climate data in companies. Since up to 90% of a company’s emissions originates from the supply chain, they must also manage to collect this data from their suppliers.

The evolution of a sustainable enterprise

For companies that start collecting supplier climate data, it is important to understand that next to compliance and reporting purposes, they can also generate huge amounts of value from their data collection. If done right, it can help the company to operate more effectively, more profitably, with reduced costs and in a more innovative way to develop new products and services. 

Based on this insight, companies can be classified in a maturity curve for their sustainable evolution in three stages.

Stage 1 – Sustainability Compliance

Focus mainly on license to operate and meeting regulatory or compliance requirements. Digital maturity is low, processes and systems are siloed, and data collection and aggregation is a manual process.

Stage 2 – Sustainability Optimization

Sustainability initiatives exist for Social, Environmental & Governance, across operations and support functions. Acceleration of digitization and automation of sustainability data collection and reporting.

Stage 3 – Sustainability Transformation

Sustainability is embedded as a core value and mission statement across all company departments and functions. Technology is focused on differentiation, advanced analytics and futuristic, with the objective of leveraging sustainability as a competitive advantage.

Key steps in operationalizing supplier climate data

How can companies leverage their supplier climate data to move from mere sustainability compliance to real sustainable transformation? The following key steps can serve as a guide to successfully operationalize the data collected in order to drive action.

1. Data Collection

There are two different options when collecting climate data from suppliers. Real supplier “primary” product level data is the preferred where available, though availability is limited. “Secondary” averages data on the other hand are readily available, but of limited quality. Clients should therefore collect and integrate primary data for selected high impact/strategic suppliers (at least scopes 1 and 2) where possible and use secondary data sources to model remaining emissions.

2. + 3. Data Integration and Engine

While many companies still collect and integrate their data manually in Excel spreadsheets, the goal should be to automate this process as much as possible. Specialized software solutions are already available for this purpose, such as the Climate Intelligence Platform. This has the advantage that time-consuming processes can be carried out efficiently and cost-effectively, and the data is also auditable.

4. Visualization and reporting

Once companies have collected and integrated the supplier climate data, they should visualize the results next in order to draw out insights to inform reporting and strategy. Smart visualization with specialized tools also supports the management of data availability and quality.

5. Simulation and strategy

In order to use the data not only for insight into the past, but also for future planning, the next step is strategy work. Companies can now leverage the supplier climate data to help guide decision making around reducing emissions along the supply chain. This is where modeling and simulation comes in and links with the next and last step: supplier engagement.

6. Supplier Engagement

Collaborating with and engaging suppliers is the core and end goal of every effort to decarbonize the supply chain. It is important to note that successful supplier engagement must occur at three levels.

Process & Governance – Companies should design a strategy and operational model aligned to supplier benefits and user outcomes that are fair, democratic, transparent and evolving.

Business Value – In order to secure participation, companies must design a business model that includes appropriate incentives to stimulate collaboration and network effects.

Technology – Technical solutions with winning human experiences help to drive mass adoption of new digital products and services with privacy, trust and security.

Start with a free basic account for the Climate Intelligence Platform

The best approach to finding the entry point to collecting and leveraging supplier climate data is to “start small and think big”. The Climate Intelligence Platform offers a perfect small start for companies looking to engage their suppliers for climate action. The free basic account offers access to over 10,000 climate supplier profiles and the possibility to analyze the basic climate maturity of an unlimited number of suppliers in an automated way.

Here you can register within 5 minutes and try out the platform without obligation.

“Together we can. Together we will” – Interview with Anna Rathmann from the Jane Goodall Institute

Everything is connected – everyone can make a difference. Under this motto, the Jane Goodall Institute fights worldwide to conserve the natural world we all share. We are excited that Anna Rathmann, Executive Director of the Jane Goodall Institute, will be a keynote speaker at the CLIMATE TRANSFORMATION Summit 2023, sharing her vision and insights with the CLIMATE community.

For the Climate Magazine, she has already taken the time to answer our most pressing questions to her. The interview is about the three big global crises – climate change, biodiversity loss, and environmental inequity –, how they intertwine and how the institute is partnering with companies to tackle them.

Hello Anna, thank you for taking the time for our interview. Let’s start by briefly introducing yourself to our readers and explaining to them what the Jane Goodall Institute stands for at its core.

First off, thank you for the opportunity to share a little bit about the Jane Goodall Institute’s nearly 50 years of conservation. My name is Anna Rathmann, I am the executive director of the Jane Goodall Institute (JGI) USA in Washington, D.C. I have spent my career working in conservation and, like many others, have a profound respect for the holistic philosophies and approach of Dr. Jane Goodall.  The Jane Goodall Institute’s mission evolved as Jane evolved as a scientist and activist.

The foundation of JGI was built on the groundbreaking research Jane began over 60 years ago in Gombe National Park in western Tanzania on chimpanzees and their ecosystem. While this ongoing research continues to be at the core of our work today, we combine this decades long commitment to science with community-led conservation, innovative advocacy around animal welfare and environmental issues, best-in-class rehabilitation and sanctuary care for a variety of wildlife exposed to trafficking, One Health initiatives, forest protection and restoration, applied conservation technology, and our global youth program: Roots & Shoots. 

Jane often refers to our planet as a “tapestry of life”. This philosophy, of “when nature thrives, we all thrive,” has guided the work of her namesake Institute to view complex issues like biodiversity and habitat loss, human inequity, and apathy – as interconnected. In response, JGI’s solutions are interconnected. We see threats as opportunities to bring people together across industry, sector, and identity to pursue science-based solutions that integrate the needs of people, other animals, and the environment in their communities. Together we are adding to the “tapestry of life” and building a “tapestry of hope” towards positive change worldwide. 

In your recently announced new strategy, you are stressing the fact that our society is now facing 3 global crises: climate change, biodiversity loss, and environmental inequity. How do these crises affect and magnify each other, and what is your approach to help address them all?

Climate change, biodiversity loss, and environmental inequity are deeply intertwined. Human inequities have largely driven the over consumption of natural resources and environmental degradation. Global consumer industries both perpetuate inequities and overwhelmingly drive this damage. In turn these processes are the main drivers of greenhouse gas emissions, habitat loss, pollution, and harmful transformations that are causing the Sixth Great Extinction. We are each part of the grand tapestry of life and as species go extinct, the whole tapestry begins to fall apart. 

We also know that as ecosystems lose their ability to absorb greenhouse gases, like global forests and oceans, all these factors of damage and threat increase. This cycle then deepens human inequities, disproportionately affecting low-income communities worldwide, leading to a cycle of habitat loss, destruction, and suffering.  

This is why Jane and JGI have never seen threats as standalone problems. Every threat is integrated and requires integrated solutions – and everyone plays a role in these solutions.  That is why people are at the center of the Jane Goodall Institute’s approach to conservation. We want to create involvement at every level for true community ownership of conservation and environmentalism. Local and indigenous people are the stewards of the majority of the world’s biodiversity, so JGI wants to ensure local communities and indigenous groups are leading their own natural resource management and sustainable development – an approach the Jane Goodall Institute calls “Tacare” (to “take care”). We also firmly believe in the power of young people. Our Roots & Shoots program empowers young people to identify problems facing people, other animals, and their environment – so that they see these interconnections and find ways to help locally. 

Jane and JGI are part of global campaigns and advocacy to influence environmental policies at all levels of government and stewardship. Our #EATMEATLESS campaign is part of our efforts to shine light on the damaging effects of the animal agricultural industry. Our “Jane’s Green Hope” campaign focuses on nature-based solutions through partnering with companies such as Hewlett Packard for native forest restoration and protection. 

Top down and bottom up, JGI believes everyone has a role in creating change and the responsibility to create a better world for us all. These threats facing our planet are complex, but when each of us takes part in transforming our systems, we change the way we view our relationship to one another and to the natural world.

You have defined 4 key groups with whom you want to work together to fight the 3 crises: young people, indigenous communities, the general public, and businesses. What responsibility but also what opportunities do you think businesses have in particular in the fight against climate change?

We know that a small group of around 100 companies are responsible for the majority of emissions, but we also know those companies consist of people. Jane often uses the analogy of speaking to someone’s “heart and their head” by sharing a story about how a young woman in Roots & Shoots spoke to her father who was in the fossil fuel industry about climate change. When we have these intergenerational conversations – interpersonally or between entities like JGI and major companies – we can make important shifts towards the necessary sustainability this world needs before it is too late. 

Jane and JGI work to have these conversations and keep the momentum going in the right direction. This means either directly scaling or deepening our work, increasing accessibility for end-users to participate in sustainable practices, and/or advancing efforts that will work with companies to identify ways to reduce negative impacts, carbon emissions, pollution, and more. 

What special challenges have you experienced in your collaboration with businesses, and what best practices for sustainable and climate-related business decisions have been most effective?

In any relationship, there is the need to make sure we are listening and creating a vision for the project that benefits everyone, one based in science, and which perpetuates movement towards tangible and real sustainability. Having companies see how robust our programs are, and how simple solutions can create big impact, has been less of a challenge and more of an emerging opportunity. 

When finding partners, the Jane Goodall Institute wants to make sure that they have already invested in carbon divestment goals and green transformations. We then find ways to move further to the goal together. Jane has always found common ground through conversations, and conversations are where true understanding happens – where is there already a chance for overlap or expanding programs that work? How can we use our brand to increase the accountability of a corporation to walk the talk? How can we also provide resources, insights, and expertise to ensure that every aspect of the partnership and deliverables are sustainable? These are the questions to ask. 

Do you have a message for companies that you would like to share in short words with the participants of the upcoming CLIMATE TRANSFORMATION Summit 2023?

We know that there are so many innovative people in influential companies ready to turn the tide on the harms facing our planet through partnerships. Through the Jane Goodall Institute’s model, we have the programs, expertise, and investment in local and indigenous leadership, and we welcome thoughtful and meaningful partners to help take that work further. Everyone wants to be part of a winning team and when they see what is possible by working together, they are inspired to think more critically about the brands and organizations they support, and how they live their lives. 

Jane has always followed a path of doing what was right for the sake of the common good with the knowledge that we are all dependent on one another, this planet, and its finite resources. But as Jane says, “How is it that the most intellectual species to ever exist is destroying our only home?” One of Jane’s most important reasons for hope is the human intellect – what has driven our incredible globalized industries is our human brains, and so these same brains can work together to solve even the greatest of complex challenges. When we combine our intellect with using our hearts to guide us in doing what is right, we change the world. 

“Together we can. Together we will” 

We thank Anna for the inspiring interview.

Don’t miss her keynote at the CLIMATE TRANSFORMATION Summit 2023. Here you can secure your ticket.

JGI does not endorse handling or close proximity to wildlife. This represents a sanctuary context with trained professionals.

THE CLIMATE CHOICE says thank you for a special 2022!

What a year for climate champions! We all faced major new challenges in 2022 – especially companies that were particularly hard hit by the energy crisis and supply chain bottlenecks. Despite everything, you, the CLIMATE community, have continued to work with us to drive the transformation to a low-carbon economy. There have been many positive highlights and developments for which we at THE CLIMATE CHOICE want to say thank you. Let’s take a look at how 2022 allowed us to boost climate transformation all around the globe!

Kicking off the year with strong, new partners

Our year began with a firework of climate action. We were able to start working with many new major and influential customers for the Climate Intelligence Platform, including, as two special highlights, the corporate projects with the mobile phone provider o2 Telefónica and the baby food manufacturer HiPP. We kicked off inspiring collaborations to elevate the transparency of emissions along their supply chains by using our platform.

HiPP was able to successfully identify climate-related risks and potentials of five suppliers with the help of our software tool. HiPP’s Head of Sustainability Management Dr. Johannes Knubben reflects: “The software tool from THE CLIMATE CHOICE enables us to implement a scalable and reliable process to increase the climate-relevant transparency of our supply chain.”

Our next goal is to extend the software-driven climate data collection initially to other partners and ultimately to HiPP’s supply chain. Through an integration of THE CLIMATE CHOICE software tool into HiPP’s sustainability and procurement strategy, the full potential of climate-relevant supplier management is to be exploited.

Our corporate project with o2 Telefónica also successfully identified climate-related risks and potentials of the selected suppliers. The company is now able to develop a transparent, scalable process for collecting comparable data on the climate maturity of suppliers.

In the next step, we will integrate our platform into the procurement dashboard of o2 Telefónica. The climate-relevant data collection for the decarbonization of Scope 3 will be extended to around 1,000 suppliers.

CLIMATE TRANSFORMATION Summit 2022

The climate action kept on flowing and reached a new peak at our #CTS2022. For the third year in a row, we brought together international climate leaders and procurement experts for our two-day 100% online Climate Transformation Summit. 

We welcomed 64 speakers, who interacted with over 1,000 attendees from 59 different countries. Attendees had the chance to participate in 12 limited workshops together with our Partners from B.A.U.M. e.V., First Climate, BearingPoint, AXA Climate School, Enviria, Fairantwortung gAG, Katjes Fassin GmbH & Co. KG, Regionique, IBM, Make-IT Alliance, Telefónica Germany, EcoVadis, Alice Schmidt, ESG Portfolio Management,  Sustainable Procurement Pledge Germany, Development and Climate Alliance Foundation and WWF Germany. THE CLIMATE CHOICE says thank you!

More good news: We just announced the date for #CTS2023! We cannot wait to welcome you on May 11 & 12 2023 for two days full of climate action! Our focus this year: Making it happen – the decarbonization of supply chains! Together with you and leading experts, we will find out how we can impement CO₂ reduction along the value chain.

You can’t wait to secure your spot?
Get your Super Early-Bird ticket now!

You want to be a speaker, workshop host or partner? 
Let’s get in touch.

Launching CLIMATE Readiness Check

The most important insight we gained from the discussions at the #CTS2022 was that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in particular still find it very difficult to get a quick start in climate transformation because they often do not have sufficient know-how and/or resources. In response to this challenge, we worked over the summer on a new solution offering.

The result: In October, we launched our digital and freely available Climate Readiness Check in partnership with 10 leading sustainability organizations. Among those B.A.U.M. e.V., Bundesverband Nachhaltige Wirtschaft e.V. (BNW), Stiftung Allianz für Klima und Entwicklung, Jaro Institut für Nachhaltigkeit und Digitalisierung e.V., and the Deutscher Mittelstands-Bund (DMB).

The Climate Readiness Check offers SMEs an easy entry point into their climate transformation: through knowledge and insights into their own climate maturity, benchmarks, suggestions for improvement, and access to a B2B climate data platform.

Our Launch was a full success! We are beyond happy to see so many companies kicking off their climate transformation with our Climate Readiness Check! We can’t wait to see who will join us in 2023!

You too can conduct the Climate Readiness Check for your company now and get free access to our platform!

Kickstarter Program 2022

In addition to the projects we developed ourselves, this year we were also part of pioneering external initiatives. Among them, one highlight: In August, we were selected from more than 2.000 applicants for the Climate Lab and Kickstart Innovation scale-up program in the finance and insurance track! Kickstart is one of the largest European Innovation Platforms. Each year they chose a select number of the best international startups to participate in a 10-week program.

We were honored to work in the program with corporates – such as Swisscom, Credit Suisse, AXA, Sanitas, Post Finance, La Mobilière, Coop, CSS, SATW – from the DACH region, who strive to reduce climate risks and emissions in value chains.

Thanks for the EU ‘Best Digital Solution’ Award

The cherry on top of 2022 was winning the “Best Digital Solution” award from the European Commission. The award recognizes the development of our software platform for the collection of climate-relevant data from suppliers and attributes it great impact potential for the greening and digitalization of European industry.

On behalf of the European Commission’s DG GROW, Deputy Director General Hubert Gambs emphasized: “Digital solutions are not only useful to be competitive and provide better value to European customers. They are also key to making our economy greener and European businesses more resilient to future shocks.”

We are so grateful and can’t wait to enable more businesses in boosting their climate transformation!

Many, many thanks for driving our Mission together!

Our mission at THE CLIMATE CHOICE is transforming every company into a climate champion and enabling businesses to make procurement decisions that are aligned with the 1.5-degree-goal! We have summarized our mission for you in this short video.

We are very grateful to work with inspiring companies – and that media is increasingly sharing our mission. THE CLIMATE CHOICE says thank you Süddeutsche Zeitung, t3n, Berliner Morgenpost, Gründerszene and many more, for featuring our platform and allowing us to gain more visibility on our mission! 

Our Wrap up, 2022!

Let’s wrap it up before we go back to wrapping presents. 2022 was a complicated year for the world. We learned that the energy transition is a major driver for the overall climate transformation. We literally saw that it is interlinked with peace and has a positive impact on people, planet and profit. At the THE CLIMATE CHOICE we are therefore honoured that we were able to work on one piece of the puzzle – bringing us towards a regenerative future. These are our 5 highlights:

1. Started working with major new customers, including HiPP and o2 Telefónica
2. Held our 3rd 100 % digital CLIMATE TRANSFORMATION Summit with 64 speakers and 1.000 participants from 59 countries 
3. Launched our new Climate Readiness Check, accessible for companies of all sizes for free to kick off their climate transformation
4. Won the EU ‘Best Digital Solution’ award of the Get Digital Initiative from the European Commission and the European DIGITAL SME Alliance
5. Süddeutsche Zeitung, Gründerszene, t3n, Berliner Morgenpost, Beschaffung aktuell and many more shared our work

Our biggest ‘THANK YOU’ goes to you, Climate Champion! If you are reading this, you are dedicating your valuable time to make this climate transformation a positive one. Whether you are Sustainability Manager, Procurement Expert, or Tech Champion: You are on a mission to strive together with us for an economy that allows the world to stay below 1.5 degree. Let’s start the new year with the same energy and even more climate action. Cheers to 2023!

Your #TeamClimate

THE CLIMATE CHOICE

Milestones in Climate Reporting – New CSRD Proposal finalized

For months the European Parliament and the EU Council have been negotiating, and now they have been finalized: the CSRD. These new rules for sustainability disclosures will tens of thousands of companies have to publish in the future.

The new proposal released at the end of June 2022 addresses shortcomings in the existing rules on disclosure of non-financial information. The existing regulation has formerly been considered insufficient to be properly taken into account by investors. But there is hope on the horizon! The new CSRD takes climate reporting to a historic new level. Find out the most relevant insights on the new CSRD proposal:

1. Introduced more detailed reporting requirements

Transparency is key. The CSRD makes sustainability-related information about companies more readily available, of higher quality and more comparable. Large companies are obligated to report on social and environmental issues, human rights as well as governmental factors. The disclosures must now be externally audited and made in a separate section of the annual report.

2. Over 50,000 companies in Europe soon to be affected by CSRD

Affected are large companies with over 500 employees that are already subject to the Non Financial Reporting Directive (NFRD). They will first have to prepare the reports for the 2024 financial year and publish them in 2025. Additionally, all other large companies will be required to report one year later. Finally, capital market-oriented SMEs will be included from the 2026 financial year.

From which points in time does the CSRD apply to companies?

• 2024 for companies already subject to the non-financial reporting directive
• 2025 for large companies that are not presently subject to the non-financial reporting directive
• 2026 for listed SMEs, small and non-complex credit institutions and captive insurance undertakings

Furthermore, non-European companies, which are generating a net turnover of €150 million in the EU and are having at least one subsidiary or branch in the EU, are required to report on their ESG impacts.

3. CSRD aligned with global reporting standards

The new CSRD guidelines will require companies to report in line with mandatory EU sustainability reporting standards. For example: the suggestions of the TCFD as well as the EU Taxonomy and the existing NFRD.

The reporting will need to cover:

• The Greenhouse Gas Protocol – disclosing their Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions.  

• The 6 environment impact criteria – disclosing how they substantially contribute to the environmental goals of the EU Taxonomy while not damaging one of them:
  • Climate change mitigation
  • Climate change adaptation
  • Water and marine resources
  • Circular economy
  • Pollutions
  • Biodiversity & ecosystems

• Existing ESG-Standards such as the GRI – disclosing their social and environmental impact as well as governance

• Responsible Business Guidelines (OECD) – disclosing the entire impact along the value chain

CSRD – Economy’s game changer

The European milestone in setting international standards for sustainability reporting shows: In the future, every company worldwide will have to disclose its climate impact. This will help investors to reorient capital flows towards sustainable investment and manage financial risks stemming from climate change and improve transparency.

This is a great opportunity, guidance and motivation for effective climate action. It enables companies to position themselves as pioneers and to empower business partners along the way.

You want to learn more on how to prepare best for CSRD, in order to seize the opportunity now to drive forward climate transformation? Access the Whitepaper on CSRD here to get more insights.

You want to drive climate transformation in your organization today? Find out more about the free CLIMATE Readiness Check here and take the first steps towards a low carbon economy!

Picture: Unsplash

EU-Taxonomy Extension – How a traffic light system will transform EU-Taxonomy classification 

Today, there are debates about extending the current version of the EU-Taxonomy. The EU’s original Taxonomy was developed to provide insights on sustainable investments for investors, government and other organizations. The Taxonomy aims to provide a science-based classification system to use in financial decisions with the goal of increasingly directing investments in sustainable economic activities. While the EU-Taxonomy is still relatively new, it has attracted a large amount of critical feedback.

Why is the current version of the EU Taxonomy receiving criticism? 

The current version is mainly focused on the performance levels of activities that are considered to make a substantial contribution to the EU´s environmental objectives, while also not making significant harm to one of those objectives. So, economic activities are considered sustainable if, on the one hand, they directly contribute to the fulfillment of EU environmental goals or support the achievement of at least one of the environmental goals, such as data services to optimize the management of renewable energy sources. In doing so, none of the other environmental goals may be significantly impaired. 

Still, this classification shows some limitations. It leaves a wide variety of economic activities non-classified, either because they have no sustainable transition options or they are considered to not substantially contribute to the climate objectives. This non-classification is often misinterpreted as ”non-sustainable“. This implies that at some point, the investments for those activities will eventually dry up, although they are not actually unsustainable.

Traffic lights driving a broader understanding of sustainable activities 

The latest proposal would introduce a traffic light system for classifying economic activities. This would entail that more activities are included in the EU-Taxonomy, showing the different degrees of sustainability. 

This is to be seen in the visualization below.

In comparison to the existing Taxonomy, the new model shows a more complex classification system. Firstly, there are some activities, classed as red (Box 1), that cannot be reformed and will always be considered to do “Significant Harm“. Secondly, listed activities with an Amber status are considered as “intermediate performance“ (Box 2). Those are activities that are in the process of transitioning to a more climate compatible performance. Box 3 shows activities that are about to be included in the future. The ultimate goal is to eventually assess all the activities on an activity-by-activity basis. The last column (Box 4) shows the low environmental impact activities (LEnvI), which includes the activities that do not have significant environmental impact and should not be regarded as either red, amber or green. It could allow enterprises to show that their overall activities do not cause environmental or social harm, although not considered “green“.

Directly spoken, many EU-Taxonomy users could benefit from an extension of the Taxonomy framework to introduce other performance levels, since this would enhance transparency. Additionally, it would support a faster environmental transition within the whole economy with the goal of the “Red“ activities, transitioning to “Amber“ and to eventually eliminating the activities unable to transition.

What does that mean for companies?

The extension of the EU-Taxonomy aims to provide more transparency around the environmental impact of economic activities with the goal to incentivize investments in sustainable activities. Companies need to be aware of what this will mean for them. As investors increasingly focus on climate compatible activities, companies will need to adapt their strategy accordingly. Already today, companies are faced with the challenge of developing a climate relevant strategy in order to position themselves as a sustainable and climate compatible company.

You want to stay updated on how to drive forward Climate Transformation? Sign up for our CLIMATE News and become part of our CLIMATE community on Slack. We are looking forward to you joining us!

Picture: Unsplash

#CTS2022: The climate solutions I didn’t know existed

Today on the CLIMATE TRANSFORMATION Summit’s agenda, we have “The climate solutions I didn’t know existed”.

The #CTS2022 is expected to be mind-blowing, and one of the reasons is the CLIMATE Online Fair, for which we reserved one and a half hours on both days of the Summit. During this time slot, attendees will be able to meet inspiring providers of climate solutions and learn about the solutions that are already out there. That’s right, we already have some of the technologies needed to slow down (to say to stop it would be too optimistic) climate change, even though we might not be aware of it!

In this blog entry, I would like to introduce you to some of the Exhibitors who will showcase their products and services at our Summit to give you an idea of the type of climate pioneers you will be able to meet.

MEET THE EXHIBITORS!

So here is a list with the first confirmed Exhibitors with their climate solutions at our Summit – and don’t forget: if you want to become one, you can apply here.

•  B.A.U.M. e.V. with its over 700 members is today a strong voice of sustainably operating companies and a driving force for sustainable development in Europe.

• myclimate is a Swiss Non-​Profit Organisation wanting to shape the future through consultation, education, and climate protection projects.

• Tracks GmbH offers automated decarbonization solutions for the transportation industry.

• PLANTED plants mixed forests in Germany and offsets the CO₂ emissions of their customers.

• INTENSE AG is one of the leading providers for competent IT implementation in energy supply.

• CarbonStack accelerates the transformation to CO₂ neutrality by offsetting emissions that are difficult to avoid with local compensation projects.

• VERSO GmbH supports companies with its software for sustainability & CO₂ management.

• An official partner to the UN Race to Zero, Tech Zero is a worldwide group of tech companies of all sizes around the world who are committed to fighting the climate crisis.

• DQS CFS GmbH handles all certification and auditing services concerning aspects of consumer safety and sustainability.

• PHAT CONSULTING GmbH is a leading Microsoft partner in cloud-based office and frontline collaboration.

• PRIMAKLIMA plants and supports forests.

• Fokus Zukunft GmbH & Co. KG is a sector-independent external sustainability consultancy for (medium-sized) companies

WHAT NOW?

I don’t know about you, but I already feel inspired by simply looking at all the climate solutions out there! I can’t wait to see what each exhibitor will prepare to customize their own Virtual Booth and I hope you will join us at our CLIMATE TRANSFORMATION Summit 2022 on 2nd & 3rd June!

Don’t forget to get your ticket here and see you there!