Chapter Zero

As attention turns to COP29 Azerbaijan opening on Monday, the Climate Governance Initiative's briefing for #NEDs and #BoardDirectors offers useful insights into the discussions in Baku that will have resonance for the Boardroom. #COP29 #sustainability #Boards #Baku #NonExecutiveDirectors #NEDs

Huge thanks to Deloitte for co-hosting a brilliant roundtable discussion with us yesterday, focused on the role of the Non-Executive Director in supporting the Chief Sustainability Officer to integrate climate into core business strategy. We look forward to sharing an event summary resource with you soon.

Karen Ellis, Chief Economist at WWF-UK and speaker at Chapter Zero events, says that boards are looking for pathways to help them integrate nature into their transition plans. She says we must move towards creating a nature-positive economy as a society. But incorporating this thinking into individual company action is opaque for most companies. The upshot? Action is far too slow at a time of urgency. According to her, specific sectoral pathways are likely to be needed alongside broader routes to getting nature into business strategy, into narrative reporting and ultimately onto the balance sheet. But it all takes leadership and optimism. So far, not enough is being done at any level – company, sector, national or global. Read the full article at https://bit.ly/3CaV6Mg #nature #climate #climatechange #netzero

When board conversations revolve largely around growth, how do non-executive directors get nature on the agenda? Chapter Zero Fellow Orna NiChionna talks about finding ways for nature to resonate with boards. She points out our astonishing capacity to compartmentalise climate and nature. While carbon is now well understood, most boards are not addressing biodiversity within a similar logical business framework. In other words, biodiversity is struggling to make it into the business lexicon. And most boards have not recognised the trillions of dollars in value nature delivers to companies for free. For most of them, there is no mechanism for thinking about nature in terms of value. This must change. Read more at https://bit.ly/3A9RvNX

Have you seen our six-part advertisement series in the Financial Times? The campaign was designed to encourage boards to act on climate change. Because after all, doing so is not just a moral argument, #ItsABusinessArgumentToo The headlines of each advert are purposefully bold to provoke a reaction, inspire action and convey urgency. And we are incredibly pleased to have seen our engagement statistics across our channels go through the roof! Now we are harnessing the momentum. Above all else, we want to help non-executive directors and Chairs – who are well versed in business transformation – to see #ClimateAction as an opportunity that leads to long-term resilience for the benefit of investors, society and the planet. We have addressed the key themes highlighted by each advert with a series of thought leadership articles. You read them all and see each advert in full here: https://bit.ly/3XrSrGf A huge thank you to the Financial Times and Mother.

At the close of Chapter Zero’s six-week campaign in the Financial Times created by Mother, Julie Baddeley, Chapter Zero Chair, reflects on the growth in board attention on climate. Chapter Zero has always worked with its members to explore how to capitalise on the opportunities as well as manage the physical and transition climate-related risks. Now she reflects on how the messages in the campaign have resonated with members and non-members alike. To read the full article, see https://bit.ly/3U6V26q It’s not just a moral argument. It’s a business one too. #ClimateAction #ItsABusinessArgumentToo

Why was Chapter Zero established? To be a community of non-executive directors and Chairs with a shared passion to bring about climate action in the boardroom. Vicky Moffatt, Chapter Zero’s CEO, says that’s why we work in partnership with organisations like McKinsey & Company. To read about our hyper-scaling climate technology event with McKinsey, see https://bit.ly/4eUJJpO To sign up for our next event with McKinsey - Global climate policy and COP29: Implications for business – see https://bit.ly/4dHUdb6 #innovation #technology #environment #sustainability

Our planet has a scaling problem, not an invention problem. The evidence of humanity’s ability to invent solutions to the climate crisis is clear...but scaling is not easy and hyper-scaling is even harder. This was the topic of a fascinating event hosted by McKinsey & Company and organised by Chapter Zero. Thank you to the team at McKinsey & Company for their expertise and support. And thank you to Susan Hooper for chairing so brilliantly. To read more about what was discussed, see https://bit.ly/3XSGecM #innovation #technology #environment #sustainability

There’s no kicking the can down the road. This week’s Financial Times ad created by Mother reminds us that the buck stops with us. For NEDs, understanding the impact of climate change and addressing it is their responsibility, says Chapter Zero Fellow Laurel Powers-Freeling. So, they must own it. She asks: does your board have both a clear understanding of the strategies required to not only firefight a sudden climate-induced operating problem, but also of what is required to shoulder the climate-driven longer-term risks and business opportunities? Or has a ‘grown-up’ decision been made to wait until push comes to shove? Until regulation makes it a ‘level-playing field’ and everybody takes the hit for the required investment in change? Or until some ‘magic’ arrives that creates or enables cheaper, cleaner power globally? Maybe you’ve now caught the can that was kicked down the road a decade ago. Read more about what she says at https://bit.ly/3YeeoZZ Climate action. It’s not just a moral argument. It’s a business one too. #ClimateAction #ItsABusinessArgumentToo

Severe storms, wildfires, drought – these are all causing the private sector insurance markets to refuse cover or raise premiums. This week’s Financial Times ad created by Mother reminds us of this. In many locations, insurance is no longer affordable, which is impacting the desirability of those locations for both residential and commercial uses, says Chapter Zero Fellow, David Carlin. We saw this post-Katrina in New Orleans and, increasingly, we are seeing that Gulf Coast insurance costs may cause business relocations or closures. Boards are increasingly aware of the rising costs of insurance – there is plenty of evidence that premiums are up – even if they are not as knowledgeable about the impacts of climate change. What is concerning is that the insurance market is itself likely behind the curve when it comes to fully pricing in and accounting for the extent of climate risks many places will face. Climate action. It’s not just a moral argument. It’s a business one too. Read what he has to say at https://bit.ly/4eGfwuG #ClimateAction #ItsABusinessArgumentToo