Dear leaders: The planet needs you!
Dear fellow B Corp leaders,
The planet needs you!
I am writing in my capacity as Chairperson of the AANZ B Corp Climate Collective (BCCC) to call on you to join your fellow B Corps in taking action on climate change.
While you might think you or your company can have little impact, the science has shown that we can all have an impact, particularly if we work collectively to do so. The science* has also shown that the time we have left is rapidly running out and that scale and speed are critical. Many of us became Certified B Corporations as we wanted to become part of a community of like-minded, purpose driven organisations. Joining the BCCC is an incredibly rewarding way for us to come together as a community and to show society what it really means to be a B Corp that uses business as a force for good.
How do you get involved?
This website has been developed to help you find out more about the BCCC. More importantly, you can access the business resources hub put together by the Business Group to help you take the first step — measuring your business carbon emissions and setting a reduction plan — if you haven’t already.
Additionally, we are currently focussed on two important initiatives:
1. Ensure your Australian and New Zealand company sites are powered by renewables or commit to do so by the end of 2022.
Currently, Australia’s electricity and energy source is the biggest contributor to our national emissions – at 51.5%. One of the ways we can all make a meaningful contribution to reducing emissions in a timely way is by switching our energy supply to renewables. We know that at least 1/3 of our B Corps in Australia don’t use renewables energy to power their operations. The BCCC is looking at how we can help as many of our B Corps do this by the end of 2022.
We are also looking at ways we may be able to help all your individual team members use renewables to power their homes, particularly as so many are currently working from home. Imagine the impact this would have!
We will be compiling resources, looking at ways we can use our collective power to potentially negotiate more competitive rates from Green Power energy suppliers you can pass onto your teams plus a host of other options to assist you in this transition. If you are interested in this, let us know here and we will make sure to contact you when the Renewable Energy program is launched.
2. Support our efforts to drive Government policy
One of the biggest roadblocks Australia faces to reducing our emissions and to enable us to take advantage of the incredible opportunities a transition to a low emissions economy offers is a lack of Federal Government policy settings. While individuals and organisations can and must play their part, the things that can drive systemic changes (such as putting a price on carbon, providing subsidies for renewables, blocking fossil fuel infrastructure etc) can only be enacted by our elected representatives. We know there is an election looming (by May 2022) and we need to ensure that all political parties are aware that Australians from all walks of life (including our 354 strong B Corp community) are demanding the right policy settings to help us move to a low emissions economy fairly and in keeping with the targets the scientific community has set.
It is my firm belief, that as a B Corp, not only do our customers and clients expect us to show leadership on issues like climate change, our status as a B Corp means we are obligated to do so.
I look forward to working with you all to bring our ambitions to reality. Let’s show the world what it means to be a B Corp!
Take care,
Sasha Titchkosky
Chairperson ANZ BCCC
*For more info about the IPCC report https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/aug/09/what-is-ipcc-why-new-climate-report-different
Want to join the BCCC?
If you are considering getting involved with the BCCC, get in touch and let’s have a chat about how you could contribute your time, skills and expertise to take meaningful climate action.