Many stakeholders, including investors, employees and customers, are demanding that businesses of all sizes and types take rapid, meaningful action to mitigate climate change, and to transparently share their climate risks and adaptation plans. Millennial and Gen Z workers have made their preferences clear regarding the kinds of companies they want to buy from and work for. While many of the largest publicly-traded companies now report their emissions (and emissions reduction commitments) through platforms like CDP and TCFD, most public companies and privately-held companies have not taken meaningful action.

Climate Action for Business will be a program to equip business leaders with an approach to:

  • Develop meaningful climate action strategies
  • Account for their carbon emissions
  • Plan for emission reductions
  • Engage with key stakeholders

Eligibility

Specific population of learners (corporations, community members, etc.) Executive Education

Delivery Mode

Online

Credit Status

Noncredit 

Academic Level

Other

Time to Completion 

2 days 

Requirements

  • Complete course learning objectives (see department).
  • Complete a climate action plan. 

Criteria

Stakeholder Engagement and Collaboration 

  • Engage employees on climate action.
  • Create pathways for every job to be a climate job.
  • Embed climate justice in every aspect of your plan. 
  • Ensure the board is climate-competent.
  • Engage and support local communities.

Emissions Reductions

  • Accelerate goals, include interim targets and phase out use of offsets.
  • Address supply chain and historical emissions.
  • Institutionalize emissions reduction efforts.
  • Use carbon removal technology as a last resort and only for unavoidable emissions.

Products, Partnerships and Procurement 

  • Ensure products and partnerships don’t serve bad climate actors.
  • Require suppliers to adopt science-based emissions reductions targets.
  • Prioritize circularity and low carbon materials.

Investments and Financing

  • Offer employees climate-friendly retirement plans and investment opportunities.
  • Push banks and asset managers to align investments with the Paris Agreement.
  • Pressure insurance companies to stop underwriting and investing in carbon-intensive projects.

Climate Disclosures

  • Publicly disclose climate-related risk and support mandatory disclosure standards.
  • Use standardized reporting frameworks such as TCFD and CDP.

Climate Policy Advocacy 

  • Use influence to advocate for climate policy at all levels of government.
  • Align political contributions.
  • Focus lobbying dollars on just climate solutions.
  • Push trade associations to align.

Business Model Transformation 

  • Embed climate considerations into every part of the business.
  • Focus business model on scaling climate solutions, phase out parts of the business that are incompatible.

Long-term Thinking 

  • Value long-term thinking over short-term profit and prioritize building a just climate future for all.

Skills

  • Climate action planning