The relationships between companies and their stakeholders beyond shareholders – including employees, consumers, suppliers, governments, and the environment have never been more complex or critical to understand.
Business insight surveys seeking to identify the areas of ESG risk which are likely to have the most material impact on a business over next 12 to 18 months inevitably list greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions amongst the top risks. Ambitious climate and energy targets are also being set at the State and Federal levels, including the recent strengthening of Australia’s 2050 net zero interim target of cutting emissions by 43% by 2030.

The Environment pillar of ESG encompasses elements such as climate change adaptation, GHG emissions reduction, and natural resource management. To limit rising global temperatures and reduce anthropogenic CO2 emissions as quickly as possible, the world is expressly committed to the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement to achieve net zero by 2050. While there is much focus on climate change and decarbonisation, you may be asking how do you develop a practical pathway to reducing emissions, what do you prioritise, and how do you go about it?