Bridging the Gap: From Climate Intentions into Business Actions

In the world of corporate sustainability, the divide between noble climate goals and actual actions remains wide, even for the most pioneering corporates and businesses who have committed to Science Based Targets Initiative, with a staggering 99.7% gap of credible financed action plans aligned with everyday sales plans and forecasts.

This begs the question: why do companies struggle to turn their environmental promises into real, impactful steps? The hurdles are many: from unreliable data on emissions and costs to competing priorities within teams, & siloed climate targets & making it hard to compare climate projects with business growth.

Consultants make the first piece of building the strategy and giving stearings guidelines to the organisation but then it is usually stuck in a power point and hard to translate into operations. To be able to turning strategy into real actions, connect all teams & keep them accountable, investments and climate & financial data projections need to be connected in one place. There are many trade offs to be made to hit your business targets between packaging investments, ingredients switches, embedding a circular business model and reduce waste and at the same time grow & make your business more profitable to compete in the market place.

Yet, within these challenges, opportunities for change exist. Here are five practical strategies for sustainability managers and CEOs to bridge this gap effectively:

1. Boost Data Reliability and Confidence: First things first, invest in solid data collection and verification systems. Collaborate with data experts to ensure the accuracy and credibility of data on emissions and costs for future projections can be valid. This trustworthy data forms the foundation for informed decision-making and strategy planning.
2. Long-term Comparison Metrics: Develop metrics that allow for clear comparisons between the impact of climate projects and business growth. Showcasing the long-term benefits and potential financial gains of sustainability initiatives will help everyone understand their value better.
3. Team Alignment and Priorities: Make sure everyone's on the same page by aligning sustainability goals with broader business objectives. Emphasize how crucial sustainability is within the overall strategy, so teams prioritize it accordingly. Highlight the risk of losing customers or talents if you don't speed up your intention to action, and show transparent progress on your commitments across the organisation.
4. Making Climate Actions Operational: No more vague plans! Develop concrete, doable plans to achieve sustainability goals to make sure your business is aligned with the Paris Agreement and Science Based Targets. Break down big goals into smaller, achievable steps, assign responsibilities clearly, and hold teams accountable for their progress. Be ready to shift or accelerate climate projects & budget allocation when business priorities and sales shift or new market conditions happen.
5. Embracing Circular Principles in Business Models: Explore and adopt circular economy principles. This means reworking processes, products, and services to cut waste, use resources more efficiently, and create a system that benefits the environment and the company. This is one of the key areas for your business to truly hit the 55 % reduction to 2030 and NetZero by 2050.

To ensure reliable data (like emission and cost data), it's important to be transparent about where it comes from and how confident you are in its accuracy. Establishing a confidence model means having clear standards and methods to validate and cross-check data. Think of it like a reliability stamp that shows how much you can trust the information. This way, everyone knows the data's solid and can make better decisions based on it.

Turning intentions into actions isn't just about setting goals; it's about changing how we think, act and work. By focusing on accurate data, team alignment, actionable plans, long-term metrics, and embracing circularity everyday, sustainability managers and CEOs can narrow the gap between good intentions and real, impactful actions. This not only helps the planet but also sets businesses up for long-term success in an ever-changing world. Digital transformation and reliable data are key to win.

If you want to learn more how to operationalise your climate strategy within energy, packaging and circularity, across the whole organisation and model your financial optimisation towards the Science Based Targets or your own climate targets, book a short meeting with our experts: calendly.com/anna-sandgren