Giving Compass' Take:

• Maria Mendiluce lays out a plan to help businesses construct bold climate leadership within the heart of their foundations.

• Why is bold climate leadership so hard to come by? How can you help make climate leadership more prevalent in the U.S. and elsewhere?

• Read about one strategy to generate bold climate leadership.

As the world grapples with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, racial inequality and more, the impacts of climate change cannot be ignored. Most weeks bring fresh headlines of wildfires, droughts and rapidly melting ice caps. They’re a reminder that climate action cannot wait for calmer times.

Encouragingly, the COVID-19 pandemic has not diminished the recognized need for bold climate action and actually has strengthened resolve among citizens, companies, governments and investors to drive real progress. Consequently the need to develop a robust leadership position on climate action is more urgent than ever and central to any company’s strategic vision.

Companies can harness this moment to join the race to zero and set a course out of the crisis though climate leadership. For a business to be considered a leader on climate it must respond to the climate crisis with ambition, deliver on that ambition with action and speak up to secure wider change through advocacy.

This means aligning corporate ambition with the best available climate science, setting a target to reach net-zero emissions by 2050, at the latest, and setting strong interim targets to get there through the Science Based Targets initiative.

Companies then need to identify and implement action to deliver on their ambition, including engaging with supply chains. The small and medium sized enterprises that make up the supply chains of many of the world’s largest companies can access help in setting and achieving climate targets through the new SME Climate Hub. Companies also need to be transparent about progress toward their goals through disclosure and reporting.

Beyond that, companies need to advocate for climate action at all levels of government, to industry peers and trade groups, ensuring alignment with lobbying practices and net-zero targets.

Read the full article about bold climate leadership by Maria Mendiluce at GreenBiz.