Climate change becoming a hot topic at board level

Over the last 15 years, more and more companies have created positions for CSR specialists. Some of these specialists get to sit on management groups. But discussion of the responsibilities, risks and opportunities presented by global climate change, was not reaching board level.

Now it seems that even at board level climate change is firmly on the agenda. A seminar at StyrelseAkademien in Stockholm set out the reasons for this. They relate to four groups of stakeholders:

1. researchers are making visible, understandable and quantifiable the business-related risks from climate change
2. the finance sector is beginning to include assessment of emissions in decision-making about access to capital
3. consumers increasingly expect companies to lead the transition to a low-carbon economy
4. governments are legislating to require companies to report on sustainability.

These stakeholders are putting pressure on companies to act more sustainably. And there are many market opportunities for companies that lead with climate-smart products and services. So it’s hard to see how a company board can afford not to have climate change on its agenda today. There’s even a UN programme to support company boards in taking responsibility for sustainability.