Our thinking

Don’t stall

23 February, 2024

Businesses are facing a significant challenge: achieving their Net Zero targets. While it’s natural  to feel concerned about how your efforts to combat climate change will be viewed, it’s crucial not to allow fear to hinder progress. 

This echoes the latest insight from our friends at the Carbon Trust, whose recent report analyses the barriers facing sustainability decision-makers in large corporations and solutions to accelerate the journey towards Net Zero. The report spotlights three main barriers obstructing business progress towards Net Zero: crafting an internal business case, tackling Scope 3 emissions, and navigating concerns surrounding scrutiny of their sustainability progress.  

In a survey spanning 400 businesses across the UK, Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands, and Mexico, the Carbon Trust uncovers a new greenwashing derivative: ‘greenstalling’. The term encapsulates a state of inactivity wherein companies, especially those in the earlier stages of climate action, find themselves mired in ‘analysis paralysis.’ Instead of taking decisive steps forward, they’re caught up, unsure of the right path to tread. 

But here’s the crux: inaction is no longer an option. The journey to Net Zero may seem daunting, but every small step counts. Businesses should embrace accountability by taking steps aligned with best practice and communicate progress with honesty and accuracy. 

This is all a climate specific manifestation of a broader problem we identified at Good Business: “Act Two”. We’ve reached a point where delivering change is hard. Businesses have taken the (relatively) easy steps, like switching energy suppliers and putting new supplier policies in place, but we need to create an Act Two that delivers transformative change. This is what the sustainability movement – and the world – needs.  

The Climate services team at Good Business are always eager to grasp this challenge by the hand. Please do reach out to find out how we can help you deliver a new phase of change.  

By Bertie Bateman