Multiple roles of business for climate action.

Businesses play a critical role in the fight against climate change. While some businesses—both high-profile and less well-known—are making significant strides, most companies are not sufficiently decarbonizing their operations or contributing toward the broader social and economic changes needed to meet climate goals. In response to scrutiny over “greenwashing”, many businesses are becoming cautious about communicating sustainability efforts, a phenomenon known as “greenhushing”. This article aims to mainstream business climate action by introducing a new framework that outlines the roles businesses can adopt in addressing climate change. Based on an interdisciplinary literature review and empirical research from the UK, we identify five roles for businesses. While much focus has been on businesses as energy consumers and enablers of low-carbon products, we highlight three additional roles: influencer, citizen, and investor. This framework serves as a heuristic tool for researchers, policymakers, and business leaders seeking to promote climate action.

What is it about?

The study developed a framework to understand the roles businesses play in climate action through empirical research conducted in the UK. It identified five roles businesses can adopt, focusing not only on direct emissions reduction but also on enabling, influencing, acting as climate citizens, and investing in climate solutions. This novel framework aims to provide a more expansive discourse about business involvement in addressing climate change. The study highlights the importance of moving beyond viewing businesses solely as energy consumers and producers of low-carbon products. It emphasizes the role of businesses in accelerating climate action through various means, offering new perspectives on their participation in climate initiatives. The research is part of a two-year project, GoZero, which investigated different policy approaches to achieving net-zero emissions for businesses. The framework is designed to act as a heuristic tool for researchers, policymakers, and business leaders to promote effective climate action.

Why is it important?

This study is important as it introduces a new framework for understanding and enhancing the role of businesses in climate action, emphasizing their potential beyond just reducing direct emissions. By identifying and defining multiple roles businesses can adopt, such as influencer, citizen, and investor, the research provides a comprehensive approach that encourages businesses to leverage their unique capabilities in addressing climate change. This framework is significant for policymakers, researchers, and business leaders as it offers a structured way to mainstream climate action across different sectors, potentially accelerating progress towards achieving global climate goals and fostering more sustainable business practices.

Key Takeaways:

1. Diverse Roles in Climate Action: The study identifies five distinct roles for businesses in climate action, expanding the focus beyond energy consumption to include roles as influencers, citizens, and investors, thereby broadening the scope of business involvement in addressing climate change.

2. Overcoming Greenhushing: The research highlights the issue of greenhushing, where businesses under-communicate their sustainability efforts to avoid scrutiny. By addressing this, the study encourages transparency and collaboration, promoting industry-wide learning and progress.

3. Inclusion of SMEs: Recognizing the significant contribution of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to emissions, the study emphasizes their proactive involvement in climate action and the necessity of supporting these efforts, given their prevalence and impact on the global economy.