Michael de Laine

Climate council report shows ways to mitigate climate risks

By Michael de Laine, Copenhagen, 27th January 2009

A new publication from the Copenhagen Climate Council recommends five ways in which companies can successfully mitigate climate risks while positioning themselves at the forefront of their sector.

Chief executives must follow five key steps if their companies are to mitigate climate risks successfully while positioning themselves at the forefront of their sector, the Copenhagen Climate Council says in a new guide released today.

According to ‘Risk, Responsibility & Opportunity: The CEO’s guide to climate action’, the five steps are seizing growth opportunities; preparing and protecting the business; setting an example; empowering others; and helping to define climate change policies.

Apart from the lean towards the climate and the environment, the strategies are not new for progressive and involved company managers.

The guide contains insights from ten top executives, who are all members of the Copenhagen Climate Council itself. This means there is a degree of self-promotion that readers must take into account when perusing the guide and accompanying comments.

“If this were a representative sample of global business, there would be room for optimism,” says Erik Rasmussen, the founder of the Copenhagen Climate Council and the CEO of the Monday Morning think-tank behind the council. “But,” he adds, “these are all frontrunners. Their vision and approach must quickly become common practice within a very short time if business shall fulfill its responsibility in the fight against climate change.”

Main author of the guide is Samuel A DiPiazza Jr, the CEO of PricewaterhouseCoopers International Ltd.

“CEOs that have contributed to this piece have drawn from their personal and professional experiences to produce a climate change action plan for their peers,” DiPiazza says. “Those that are able to adapt and innovate shall be the leaders of the next generation; those who wait too long risk being left behind.”

As well as highlighting how innovative companies across all sectors are accounting for climate change and taking action to minimize risk and leverage new opportunities, the guide lists the top ten things to know about climate change and provides checklists for the changes the companies should make in ensuring the strategies are implemented.

Further strategies and examples contained in the guide urge swift action to ensure that businesses become part of the climate solution, while benefiting from the opportunities to innovate, expand, and reach new markets.

The Copenhagen Climate Council, an international initiative that brings together leading authorities on climate change, aims at creating a constructive and positive global dialogue based on effective solutions to climate change. Its recommendations are delivered via the Danish government to the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP15) in Copenhagen next December.

The council claims that its approach “gives businesses a voice at the negotiating table and the opportunity to help build a workable framework to tackle climate change.”