Why boards should take action on climate change

Climate change is one of the driving forces shaping the economic world and boards need to have a strategy and process to deal with opportunities and challenges, according to Zoe Whitton MD Pollination, partner climate advisory group Pollination.

There are two reasons why it’s really important for boards to take action on climate change, according to Whitton. Climate change is driving transition to renewable energies and will deliver a lot of physical changes to the world around us.

“Those two forces mean that climate change is going to be one of the major driving priorities that shapes economic development choices, regulatory choices, policy choices and also the interests of stakeholders in the next few decades for corporates in all sorts of sectors.”

Boards need to be very cognisant of formulating strategy and taking action on climate change. “You need to know what's shaping the environment around you,” said Whitton. “The other reason that boards need to be acting on climate change is because physical climate change will visit upon us a whole bunch of effects that we would prefer not to live through on all sorts of levels on the consumer and citizen level, all the way through to the corporate level.”

The Climate Governance Forum will bring together leading experts who share their views on how businesses will be impacted by climate change and ways in which boards can contribute to decreasing carbon emissions.

Whitton will be one of the speakers at the forum. Other speakers include Sarah Barker MAICD, Partner & Head of Climate Risk Governance, Minter Ellison, Penny Bingham-Hall FAICD, Director, Fortescue, Karen Chester GAICD, Deputy Chair, ASIC, Philip Chronican GAICD, Chair, NAB, Kathleen Conlon FAICD, Chair, Lynas Rare Earths, Dr Guy Debelle, CFO, Fortescue Future Industries and Stephen Dunne FAICD, Chairman, Investor Group on Climate Change.