February 16, 2023
New McKinsey report shows that corporate actions can move three tolerance levels to a healthy place
What is remarkable about the report, Nature in the balance: What companies can do to restore natural capital, is that in it the authors of the report seek to calculate the impact of corporate actions on the earth's resources (natural capital), and the results are promising.
Even though a number of industries are having a detrimental impact on the Earth's resources, especially agriculture, but also the retail, service and energy sectors, companies can take specific actions, using technologies that already exist, that will not only reverse the trend but also have a positive impact on their operations.
The report is the latest McKinsey study to address these issues. The report shows that while the measures are effective and efficient, they need to be supported by other stakeholders, both within the public and private sectors.
New ParagraphVið höfum farið yfir sex þolmörk, en aðgerðinar geta snúið við þremur!
Skýrsluhöfundar styðjast við rammann um þolmörk jarðar sem eru byggð á vinnu Johan Rockström og hans teymi, vísindamannsins sem meðal annars hélt erindi á Janúarráðstefnu Festu 2022. Þolmörk jarðar eru níu talsins og fórum við yfir sjöttu mörkin í fyrra, ferskvatnsnotkun. Sævar Helgi íslenskaði myndina.
Nine Earth's Tolerance Limits. We have exceeded six. Sævar Helgi Bragason Icelandicized the film.
The report examines the impact of 47 actions on 5 sustainability areas: biosphere health, land-use change, freshwater changes, emerging pollutants, and nutrient cycling.
Ósoneyðing er ekki tekin með, af því að þau þolmörk eru á réttri leið vegna mótvægisaðgerða, né heldur loftslagsbreytingar vegna þess að þær hafa verið rannsakað ítarlega í öðrum skýrslum.
The other two thresholds, ocean acidification and atmospheric particulate matter, are not included because sufficient data on them is lacking for the purposes of the report.
The study shows that companies can have an impact on reversing the development of three of the four climate change tolerances, land use change, freshwater change, and nutrient cycling, and keeping them within tolerance limits. It is also possible to have a positive impact on two of them, biosphere health and emerging pollutants. Although the climate change tolerance is not specifically examined, many of the actions have a significant impact on emissions because the challenges of nature and climate are closely linked.
But what are these actions?
Í skýrslunni eru lagðar fram 47 aðgerðir sem fyrirtæki geta gripið til og þau sem vilja kafa djúpt í þær geta litið í skýrsluna sjálfa, á blaðsíðu 47. Tólf arðbærustu aðgerðirnar, eru sagðar skila mjög miklum fjárhagslegum hagnaði. Þetta eru til dæmis nýjar landbúnaðaraðferðir, minni matarsóun og ný afhendingarmódel sem minnka plastframleiðslu. Önnur snúa að vélrænni flokkunaraðferð, lífbrjótanlegu plasti fyrir umbúðir, líffræðilegri meindýraeyðingu, landbúnaðarskógrækt og mörgu fleiru.
Helmingur aðgerðanna, geta skilað fjárhagslegum ávinningi í dag.
The other half involves costs, in the environment we live in today, but that could change due to technological development. Also, if externalities are taken into account, there is no question of whether they are profitable. Many wonder whether future business models will take pollution of nature into account as a cost.
On page 77 of the report there is a road map for companies that want to take these steps.
Náttúruleg ímynd
Here are some examples of companies that have set some of these goals: Loreal, Walmart and Kering. There are also opportunities in creating an image based on a positive impact on the earth's resources. More and more companies are focusing their actions not only on greenhouse gas emissions but also on other aspects of the earth's tolerance.
Emissions targets are not enough, and we will see an increased focus on protecting other natural resources. We can contribute to less waste, more efficiency, and a better planet through actions that pay off financially. It is possible.
The report can be accessed here.
Ísabella Ósk Másdóttir, Festa's communications manager, summarized.
