Did you know that many companies' biggest carbon emissions are not from their operations but from their savings and financial investments? This guide can help your company reduce its emissions and contribute to reaching its climate targets – with little time invested.
Finances are an often overlooked source of emissions for corporations. A company might have done a great job reducing its Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions, switching to renewable energy, and adopting circular production models. But, its carbon footprint can still be substantial. This is often due to the allocation and investment of funds, and the management of occupational pension funds for its employees. The Carbon Bankroll report shows that the total carbon emissions of some companies in the services and ICT sectors could more than double if emissions from cash holdings in the bank were counted. This is because many big banks around the world continue to invest in fossil fuel companies and provide loans for new fossil fuel exploration or related activities. Moreover, around 6,500 institutional investors hold bonds and shares in coal, oil, and gas companies worth more than US$3 trillion. More likely than not, your company is unknowingly part of this hidden fossil-fuel financing problem. The good news is that this can be fixed, and that fixing it will put you in the frontline.
ACTION ONE: GREEN YOUR COMPANY'S CASH HOLDINGS
The Greening Cash Action Guide is a science-aligned and step-by-step guidance for business leaders, sustainability managers, board members and employers who want to reduce the emissions from their company’s cash holdings. The guide has been developed by Exponential Roadmap Initiative – co-chaired by Professor Johan Rockström, one of the world's leading climate scientists – in collaboration with the UN Climate Change High-Level Champions’ Race to Zero campaign, Fair Finance Guide, and other expert organizations. https://bit.ly/Greening-Cash-Action-Guide
Here are seven key actions, as outlined in the guide:- Secure support from the executive management. This is crucial to succeed in greening the company’s cash holdings.
- Gather bank data. Get your sustainability and finance teams to work together to evaluate your banks’ current emissions, climate policies, and how performance is improving over time.
- Calculate the carbon footprint of your cash deposits. Follow the guide’s checklist to determine how many tonnes of CO2 your cash is indirectly creating through your banks’ lending and investment practices.
- Talk to your banks. By urging them to improve, you are sending a powerful market signal and showing them how important it is for you that they help meet global climate goals.
- Prioritise green cash management. Ask your bank to shift some of the company’s cash into “green” financial cash management products such as green deposits.
- Move the Money. If your company’s current banks are not taking sufficient climate action, consider moving some or all of your company’s cash to a bank that is.
- Create and share your plans, targets, and progress. Talk to your business networks about the importance of addressing their cash holdings’ emissions, and the actions they can take.
Read the full instructions and get detailed advice on how to Move the Money by downloading the Greening Cash Action Guide. For more info, watch the launch event of Greening Cash here: https://youtu.be/vOskr-dtwz4?t=20303
ACTION TWO: GREEN YOUR EMPLOYEES' PENSION SAVINGS
Many of the biggest pension funds around the world are still investing heavily in oil, coal, and gas. But in most cases, there are green options to those funds. Here are four ways to make sure your company’s occupational pension funds are fossil-free.
- Find out who your pension providers are. Ask your financial department to give you a list of all pension companies receiving monthly payments for your employees’ occupational pension savings.
- Find out how they invest their money. Search for the companies on We Don’t Have Time and see if other users have given them Climate Warmings ⚠️. Then search for them on Investing in Climate Chaos. If you find them there, look up the figure for “total investments” in oil, coal, and gas.
- Contact the pension providers. Ask them if they plan to divest from fossil fuels and when. Let them know that you will consider moving your money if they keep investing in oil, coal, or gas or lending money to such operations.
If your company has a personal contact, call him or her or book a personal meeting. The second best option is to send an email. By doing so, you make it clear to the pension provider that there is a demand for green alternatives.
- Communicate to your employees that your company has greened its cash and occupational pension funds, and encourage them to do the same with their private holdings, send them this guide.
ACTION THREE: BRAG ABOUT IT OUTSIDE YOUR ORGANIZATION
Show your support. If you haven't done so yet, sign up for the #MovetheMoney campaign, and don’t forget to add how much money you want to move. This will be handled anonymously and separated from your other company data. We aim to put more pressure on financial institutions and fossil fuel companies by showing how much money is on the move. When you are done, please share this campaign with others on social media, and let them know how easy it is to make a climate impact with your money.
Should you have any suggestions for enhancing this guide further, please do not hesitate to contact us via email at markus.lutteman@
https://wedonthavetime.org
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5 w
With such elaborate guidelines, I am sure we will start to see the movement. We Don't Have Time is really doing great work
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5 w
Everyone can take action! Download the guide, share it with your network, and #BreakFreeFromFossilFuels. Let's show financial institutions the power of our money & fight climate change together! ✊
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5 w
@george_kariuki We should share this with the Federation of Kenyan Employers (FKE)
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5 w
The best article,thanks for sharing.
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5 w
Great article!! #wecandoit
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5 w
To have a step-by-step guide towards green investments is really a great thing to have. Anyone who wants to know anything about investing in green energy, they can refer to this guide. It is so easy to understand with suggestions on what website to visit, etc. Thank you for writing this.
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5 w
Amazing guide. Thank you for sharing. Information is power