MSIG article test 2

The same report estimates that approximately 3.3 to 3.6 billion people live in contexts that are highly vulnerable to climate change. Already, the world is seeing an increase in the number of extreme weather events driven by climate change, such as flooding, forest fires and droughts.

According to a study of 1,500 companies in the MSCI World Index, without any concrete action to curb emissions, the international private sector would be responsible for raising global temperatures by over 3 degrees Celsius by 2050. While many corporations have engaged in corporate social responsibility efforts centred around the environment, these measures tend to be one-off and are unable to combat climate change effectively. More must be done on the part of businesses before it is too late – a call that is being sounded by leaders in the banking, finance and insurance sectors, among others.

An outcome of corporations doing right by the environment is that they seem to clock in better financial performance. A Harvard Business School study found that companies that integrated sustainability measures into their business goals earned investors almost double in a 20-year period. According to the World Economic Forum, consumer support for sustainable businesses is also growing in both developed and developing economies.

While around a fifth of the world’s 2,000 biggest publicly-listed companies have committed to net-zero emissions, corporations are also turning to partnerships with organisations that can offer sustainability expertise and outreach, in order to maximise the impact of their efforts. Many of these efforts have so far focused on carbon off-setting, through actions such as planting trees or switching to renewable energy – but few have turned their attention to biodiversity, an important aspect of our environment.