The IPCC report confirms it’s time for your company to act!

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve probably heard about the newest report from the IPCC. To get the stone dwellers among us up to date, for the first time, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has officially, unambiguously found that humans are directly responsible for causing climate change.

What’s more, we can only release an additional 400 billion tons of CO2 if we have any hope of staying below the 1.5C goal laid out by the Paris Climate Agreement. Given that global emissions in 2020 were 40 billion tons of CO2, the next decade will be critical for shaping the future of humanity and the planet alike.

As said, probably not news to you. But the report confirms that we must get to a net-zero emissions world-- and get to it fast.

The climate is changing? Yeah, we noticed.

The report underscores the effects of climate change that millions of people around the world are already feeling. It seems that every year brings new record-high temperatures, "once in a century" storms, major wildfires, and other incidents of extreme weather.

Human activities are messing with the global water cycle and worsening the intensity of wet and dry periods. Places such as western North America, the Mediterranean, and South Africa are already facing severe droughts. In fact, just last week, the US declared a water shortage on the Colorado River for the first time in history.

And while there is hope of reversing some effects of climate change, others, such as ice loss and sea level rise are irreversible for centuries or even millennia. This means even if we manage to stabilize the global temperature, we will still have to grapple with effectively permanent changes to our planet.

It’s time to act

The science is laid bare for anyone with open eyes: now, more than ever, is the time to act if we are to have any hope of staving off climate change.

There’s no time to waste feeling gloomy. Instead, let this report be an extra push to spring you and your company into action. It’s time for your company to get even more serious about reducing its environmental impact.

A lot of sub-issues are baked into such a grand aim, whether it be revamping your business model, supply chain, or logistics. Perhaps your company is switching to renewable energy, incorporating principles of the Circular Economy, or choosing from a plethora of other options.

We’re too far gone past making small, incremental changes ("no more plastic straws in the office cantine! :)") and hoping for the best. Such a big undertaking must be rooted in hard facts, so you know where you started and exactly how much each action helps your company’s overall sustainability goals.

The latest IPCC report reconfirms that climate change poses one of greatest challenges our species has ever confronted, and we must all do our part if we are going to overcome it. Be a part of the positive change by letting data drive your company’s sustainability efforts.

History is being written every day as climate change continues to advance. Contact us today to discover how, by partnering with SustainLab, you can reinforce your commitment to doing your part as a company to leave behind a planet that is better than you found it.