Page 20 - MiNDSPACE Issue 2 2022 - Old Mutual Corporate

agenda changeSPACE
The C-suite and climate change
2050 – the global deadline for eliminating all ‘man-made’ CO2 emissions – is around the corner. Where do businesses and business leaders stand?
By Samantha Page
Scientists around the world agree that global net emissions of CO2 must fall by 45% from 2010 levels by 2030 to reach zero around 2050 in order to prevent the worst climate damage.
Paul Kapapula, Territory Manager for Bayer Zambia, is seeing the effect of climate change at first hand: ‘The seed
and agricultural business is climate-sensitive, especially with regard to the rainy season – when it starts, how long it lasts and when it ends. Last year, the start date shifted from November to January, which delayed planting season. This has a particularly adverse effect on small-scale farmers. Commercial farmers are not immune, though, and see it in dwindling water reserves in dams.’
Two of South Africa’s neighbours – Zimbabwe and Mozambique – rank among the 10 countries worst-hit by climate change by
the German research institution GermanWatch. In Zimbabwe, the rainy season has shortened by 30 days and the dry spells that break it up can now be as long as 20 days.
With this in mind, Kapapula is almost stating the obvious when he says: ‘Climate is key in agriculture. The agricultural business needs climate-conscious activities to sustain itself.’
THE BENEFITS OF CLIMATE-CONSCIOUS ACTIVITIES
Between September and October 2021, Deloitte polled more than 2 000 C-level executives in 21 countries to investigate business leaders’ and companies’ concerns and actions relating to climate change and environmental sustainability.
Based on this, the 2022 Deloitte CxO Sustainability Report reveals that a third of organisations haven’t implemented more than one out of five ‘needle-moving’ sustainability actions, which
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IMAGE: SHUTTERSTOCK. PHOTO: SUPPLIED