Guide to business climate action
Step 2: Build engagement & vision
To implement a successful environmental management program, organizations must first build environmental values and principles into their corporate culture and strategic direction. Programs without the support of management and staff, and those that do not align with company goals and principles are sure to fail.
To obtain support from management, prepare a proposal for senior leadership in their terms. This proposal should contain the business case for action and examples of how energy and climate management is practiced in the sector.
Securing support from leadership then allows you to engage employees in your program. Some businesses go a step further by involving stakeholders who either share or are affected by climate change impacts of the business.
Senior leadership and employees should then work together to establish a program vision, strategy and specific performance targets relevant to energy and environmental impacts. Companies can use performance indicators such as energy consumption in kilowatt-hours or greenhouse gases in tonnes to measure progress towards these visions and targets. Reporting on your progress helps to ensure accountability to your vision over time.
Formalize your strategy, including your vision, plan, stakeholders, performance indicators, and reporting method into a policy to be signed by senior leadership. Assemble a team representative of several departments to carry out the policy and be sure to have representation from leadership.
These tools and resources will help you build engagement and create an energy and environmental strategy in your organization.
