OPINION: Businesses must prioritize tackling climate change

When I was in primary and secondary school, every year we had a few weeks in science classes dedicated to climate change.

The biggest take away from these sessions is that if everyone in the world just did things a little bit different then climate change will not be an issue.

Our teachers would tell us the simplest of solutions; re-use plastic bags, close the tap, switch off the lights, use a bicycle, and spread the word.

I, and many students around me, were led to believe that if everyone in the world did these things frequently we would solve the problem. And that is probably one of the biggest lies I have known.

From 1988 onwards, a fewer than 100 companies in the world have contributed to 70 per cent of the total greenhouse gas emissions on Earth. These are the gasses that are the biggest reasons for climate change.

Therefore, whilst everybody can do the basics to help prevent climate change it still wouldn’t be enough if the corporations don’t immediately act on the problem.

Numerous times, I have heard that my generation will be the one to fix climate change.

However, truth of the matter is, we need the undivided support of the previous generations, (the one containing of today’s business owners) in order to make a telling difference.

Collectively we will be able to achieve the Global committed goal of 0 carbon emissions by 2050.

Forbes author Simon Mainwaring puts it best when writing about why businesses should act, saying that “climate change will damage economies, devastate populations, increase resource scarcity and dramatically impact the cost of doing business. Therefore, for both humanitarian and business reasons, it is imperative that companies of all sizes take action.

At the same time, it is also likely that more aggressive climate policies will be enforced by government bodies on an international level to address climate change.”

So, what should businesses do? Firstly, it is imperative to measure your carbon footprint. Measure your emissions, set a preliminary benchmark and then create aims to reduce those emissions over time. Next create a plan to tackle specific areas of your businesses that create the most emissions such as energy, transportation and even food.

Finally, monitor those objectives, be transparent about the statistics and make sure you’re prioritizing those goals.

An ideal global initiative for big businesses to join is the RE100. By joining, the business commits to going 100 per cent renewable by 2050 at the latest.

Many huge companies have joined the initiative, such as Apple, HP, Kellogg’s and Nestle.

Prior to joining such initiatives, it is however, important for businesses to first notice that the way things are going now are unsustainable and therefore need to be changed. The changes should start at each business level.

A big example of a company going green is LEGO. Having already hit the goal of balancing 100 per cent their energy use through renewable energy, the children’s toy company are now aiming to use only sustainable materials in its products and packaging by 2030.

The Danish company has started this process by creating new LEGO pieces by using sugarcane-based plastic, from sugarcane that was sourced sustainably.

This is just one example of many companies beginning their journey towards sustainability.

An African example of this is from the South African company Kevro, a leading clothing and gifting wholesaler. This company makes sure that every single product it is giving out follows all the Environmental International Standards.

This means that the BPA, lead and cadmium levels have to be below approved amount, for every product to make it environmentally compliant before Kevro sells it.

Kevro sets a target for its products to all be environmentally compliant and have achieved that goal.

As a Tanzanian, I want our businesses to realize we shouldn’t wait for the millennials to fix the world, we need to start doing it now. Let’s start going green in every way we can now.