Climate Change Innovation: 5 Recommendations
Dr. Ann Dale and Rob Newell of Royal Roads University provide five tips for companies seeking innovative ways to address climate change.
To communicate climate change impacts, go beyond numbers and charts. Instead, use “visualization” — images of impacts — to show staff and other stakeholders how climate change will affect specific areas or resources. “When people can see the effects, it engages both the heart and the mind and leads to action,” says Dale.
Visualization often shows a geographical area with climate impacts superimposed. Companies near water can look at how sea level rise will affect them: e.g. effects on U.S. coastlines
. Natural resource companies can anticipate effects of disease or fire: e.g. effects on forestry in British Columbia
Public resources are increasingly available
; you may also want to partner with a local university and have them develop useful images for you. (See NBS’s Sustainability
Centres community to access local universities.)
Sustainability managers sometimes focus on advancing specific initiatives. But they’re more effective if they act as facilitators: building bridges to other departments and sharing expertise that helps solve problems. In the recent study, “organizations where the sustainability coordinator has more of the facilitator role were much farther advanced,” says Dale.
Sustainability managers can help build a business case for climate change action their colleagues could use or compile environmental resources.
“You have innovation among teams of people, not individuals,” says Dale. No single expert, company or even sector has all the solutions for climate change. New solutions emerge when multiple perspectives combine. Within companies, connections across departments spur innovation. Look outside the company as well: talk with researchers, policymakers and peers at other companies.
Collaboration can be virtual and very cost-effective. Read more about Dale’s and Newell’s work on collaboration
Employees have valuable ideas. Access them through tried-and-true efforts like a suggestion box. Paying attention to employees’ suggestions can improve their work performance as well. “Employees are motivated by the opportunity for autonomy and innovation,” says Newell. This is especially true in high-level, cognitive work.
You can also build momentum by letting cost savings from a project remain in the unit that led the project. The unit can then use the savings to power its next climate innovation effort.
The research found that energy efficiency and waste reduction actions reduce operating costs. “Environmental action isn’t just a luxury that can be enjoyed if the funds are available,” says Newell. “Operating in an environmentally-friendly fashion can open up new avenues for running businesses in a cost-effective way.”
In the organizations studied, hiring an energy manager led to net positive funds as a result of the cost savings the hire produced.
Dale and Newell’s project, Meeting the Climate Challenge
(MC3), focused on actions by local governments. These lessons can be applied to for-profit businesses. “Our findings show that opportunities exist for communities to develop in innovative, collaborative and sustainable ways, and these opportunities extend to all organizations," says Newell.