Read the top insights from the CBI Sustainability Community’s focus group on COP27.
In January, the CBI's Sustainability Community (‘the Community’) was joined by an expert panel and met to discuss what the outcomes of UNFCCC’s COP27 mean for UK Businesses.
The panel was hosted by Tania Kumar, Deputy Director of Decarbonisation at the CBI, and included: Louise Clark-White from National Grid, Andrew Hedges from Baker McKenzie, Duncan Oswald from Sage, and Helen Avery from the Green Finance Institute.
Following the panel, the Community shared practical insights, best practices around engaging with COPs, and the opportunities and challenges for businesses.
Below are the top themes emerging from the discussions.
UNFCCC’s COPs as an opportunity to accelerate your sustainability journey
Several members of the Community go to COP every year. These businesses are convinced of the value of being there on the ground, including making connections and convening new partnerships. The global perspective on issues that you get at COPs cannot be underestimated and it is also an opportunity to be ‘on the same side’ as the UK government, working as a team to represent the UK case and strengthening the private sector’s relationship with the government.
However, there was a strong sentiment from participants that you do not have to go to a COP to get the benefit of a heightened focus on climate. The opportunity to take stock, and promote what your business is doing internally and externally was a great way for organisations to move sustainability to the top of their agenda.
One example included the opportunity to prioritise sustainability in internal communications and ensure that employees from other departments understand the business's climate strategy, including sharing the opportunity to upskill employees through insights on how to reduce both their own and the organisation’s, carbon footprint.
Don’t forget about the SMEs
Going to a COP can be expensive, and with the UK’s COP26 Presidency now handed over, UK businesses’ engagement will be different. However, wi
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