With climate change and extreme weather impacting everything from supply chain costs to workforce productivity, corporate climate action is no longer just a gesture of goodwill — it’s a business imperative.

Many companies are meeting the moment, with a third of the world’s largest companies setting net zero commitments. But only 7% are actually on track, requiring bigger and bolder action from the private sector. To reach corporate goals and limit global warming to 1.5°C, we need all hands on deck.

At Salesforce, this means using our full capital spectrum for climate action – including how we raise and deploy capital. Historically, we’ve taken a piecemeal approach, using different forms of capital, including philanthropy, venture capital, purchasing power, sustainability bonds and carbon credits – sometimes in isolation from one another.

In partnership with the Climate Policy Initiative, and based on conversations with 18 peer companies, we developed a blueprint to do just this. This includes a taxonomy of basic corporate finance tools, guidance on when and how to use them for climate efforts and a framework for influencing key decision-makers.

No matter where you are in your journey, here are five steps to activate multiple forms of capital for climate action.

  1. Understand your goals and the tradeoffs you're willing to make
  2. Work with key stakeholders to weigh these objectives and gain buy-in
  3. Explore your climate finance options and what it would take to activate them
  4. Put it all together to build a holistic climate finance strategy that optimizes for your goals, using your limited resources
  5. Proactively prepare for big 'climate moments' so you can be ready with a comprehensive climate finance plan.

Read the full article about climate finance by Naomi Morenzoni at World Economic Forum.