When talking about sustainability, we all sometimes use the term 'decarbonisation' interchangeably.
However, this is a reminder that we shouldn't! As whilst decarbonisation is an important aspect of sustainability, it isn't by any means synonymous.
Sustainability requires us to reduce our contribution to a much broader range of socio-environmental issues. In recent years, there has been a proliferation of'sustainability' definitions, however at Bemari we feel strongly that the Doughnut Economics version of sustainability is the most holistic.
The Doughnut consists of two concentric rings: a social foundation, to ensure that no one is left falling short on life’s essentials, and an ecological ceiling, to ensure that humanity does not collectively 'overshoot' the planetary boundaries that protect Earth's life-supporting systems.
To be 'sustainable' a business (including its value chain) must be operating within the safe and just space for humanity. So yes, reducing carbon emissions are key for getting us back into the safe operating area for climate change, however they are only part of the actions required to be sustainable.
However, many businesses first come to the idea of sustainability via a need to reduce carbon emissions. Thus decarbonisation is an important entry point for corporates to engage with sustainability more widely.
If your business has already conducted a carbon footprint assessment and has embedded carbon management practices, then you are one step ahead on your sustainability journey.
Below are four tips on how you can use the insights and practice gained through carbon footprinting, as a springboard to start understanding your sustainability impacts more holistically.
1. Re-examine your supply chain's carbon hotspots and the corresponding mitigating actions.
The carbon hotspots you identified in your carbon footprinting assessment are likely to be hotspots for other types of impact too. This is because carbon hotspots tend to business activities that have high resource consumption (like manufacturing) and/or require lots of energy.
If in your carbon assessment you already identified opportunities to reduce carbon emissions in these areas - for example, through switching to renewables or reusing, refurbishing and/or recycling resources -then, with no additional analysis, you've already identified mechanisms for reducing other sustainability impacts too, like water use, land use change and pollution.
2. Re-evaluate the supply chain mapping from your carbon footprinting.
Can you identify any insights you can apply to other sustainability topics? For example:
- Did you identify specific nature inputs and dependencies?
- Did you learn that your palm oil linked ingredients come from an unknown source and your Tier 1 supplier cant guarantee it didn't come from deforested lands?
If yes, then you've already taken the first steps to running a nature related impact assessment. Have a look at our (free) Business & Nature Day 0 toolkit to better understand how you can use these types of supply chain insights to support a nature impact assessment.
3. Align targets with global sustainability frameworks, starting with carbon targets
When it comes to setting the targets, make sure they align with global sustainability frameworks such as:
- Science Based Targets Initiative: for carbon targets
- Science Based Target Network: for nature targets
- Future Fitness Business Benchmark Framework: for holistic sustainability targets
As you now understand carbon emission reduction, start by aligning your carbon reduction targets and then use the skills gained to develop nature and holistic sustainability targets.
4. Use your carbon knowledge, as the starting point for deeper sustainability impact, risk and opportunity analysis.
A voluntary double materiality assessment will really give your business a robust overview of where your business needs to focus its sustainability efforts. We recommend using the double materiality methodology from the EU's Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and the supporting material. It can all feel slightly overwhelming at first, but again you can start by putting your known carbon impacts into the CSRD reporting framework, once you've done this, the rest should be mush easier.
So why not give some of these tips a go?
And then the next time someone asks what your business is doing to be sustainable, you can say we're going beyond just carbon and you will have some clear, specific points on one or more material topics that you are actively working towards improving.
If you're ready to take the next step in your sustainability journey and explore how to reduce your broader impacts, we're here to help. Contact us at hello@bemari.co.uk, and let's work together to find solutions. From reassessing your carbon hotspots to aligning with global frameworks and conducting deeper impact assessments, there are many ways businesses can go beyond decarbonisation towards a more holistic approach to sustainability.
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