Can Your Business Afford NOT to Take Action?

As the world awaits the UN climate conference to complete in Copenhagen, many businesses leaders, including our own sustainability consulting firm, ponder the results of the meeting as well as the long-term impacts to business. Outside of Copenhagen agreements, momentum in building business sustainability is well underway.

Last month, institutional investors that manage more than $1 trillion dollars in assets petitioned the S.E.C. to require public companies in the United States to disclose more about their financial exposure to global warming and greenhouse gas emissions policy.

Although carbon reduction is the most recognized environmental issue, increasing demand for water resources is a growing business risk. According to a McKinsey report, ‘Charting our Water Future’, the demand for water resources is a growing business risk, a major economic threat, and a challenge for the sustainability of communities.

To unprepared organizations, the business risks of carbon, water, and climate change disclosure takes many forms:

•    Potential increase in operating cost
•    Potential increase in supply costs
•    Potential disruptions to supply or loss of supplier relationships
•    Potential loss of revenue or market share
•    Potential to business reputation
•    Potential inability to secure investment dollars or capital

Our business sustainability consulting firm dares to ask, "Can your business afford NOT to take action?" As John F Kennedy said, “There are risks and costs to a program of action, but they are far less than the long-range risks and costs of comfortable inaction.”