Industry's role in climate action

Industry comprises businesses of various sizes, geographies, and sectors such as manufacturing, construction, energy, transport, retail, and waste management. In the context of the climate action ecosystem, businesses are both:

• Sources of greenhouse emissions that a climate tech solution could reduce
• Sources of climate tech solutions that could be deployed within their own company or shared across a supply chain or industry

How Greenhouse supports industry

• Crowdsource solutions to emissions reduction needs by sponsoring your own challenge on our platform to find a tailored solution to your needs.
• Search through our directory of climate tech solutions and connect with appropriate solutions or other ecosystem stakeholders.
• Connect with like-minded organisations globally to find industry-wide solutions to problems that cannot be solved alone.
• Bring supply chain partners on board to drive collaboration and lower direct and indirect emissions faster.

“Tackling emissions across…the whole value chain…is not about being woke or being ready for regulation, it’s about doing what is in our control to manage climate risk and be ready for new generations of consumers, customers and talent. These are critical opportunities for relevance and growth.” - Stuart Irvine, Lion CEO, 2022

Examples

• Food & Agriculture
  Direct emissions of this sector: 19% of global emissions
  
• Mining & Manufacturing
  Direct emissions of this sector: 26% of global emissions
• Buildings & Infrastructure
  Direct emissions of this sector: 18% of global emissions
• Energy & Power
  Direct emissions of this sector: 15% of global emissions
  
• Transport & Logistics
  Direct emissions of this sector: 16% of global emissions
  
• Retail & Services
  Direct emissions of this sector: 2% of global emissions
  
• Waste & Environment
  Direct emissions of this sector: 6% of global emissions
  

Emissions percentages adapted from Climate Watch. 2022. Washington, D.C.: World Resources Institute. Available online at: www.climatewatchdata.org.

How expectations of industry are shifting

• 2000:
  The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) was established, challenging the industry to be more transparent and providing a standardised framework for environmental impact reporting.
• 2006:
  Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change emphasised the economic risks of inaction on climate change, influencing investor expectations of industry and prompting companies to consider climate-related financial risks in their operations.
• 2015:
  The Paris Agreement marked a global commitment to combat climate change. It emphasized the need for transparency, accountability, and regular reporting on countries' emissions. This agreement increased pressure on companies to disclose their emissions and set ambitious climate targets.
• 2017:
  Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) developed guidelines to disclose climate-related risks and opportunities, encouraging companies to report on their governance, strategy, risk management, and other climate-related metrics.
• 2020:
  The EU Non-Financial Reporting Directive made it mandatory for large companies to disclose their environmental, social, and governance (ESG) information, including climate-related data. This directive increased the focus on reporting climate goals and emissions within the EU.
• 2022:March: The International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) published S2 Climate-related Disclosures (IFRS S2) requiring all companies whose securities trade in US public markets to disclose information about their climate-related risks and opportunities helpful to users in making decisions relating to providing resources to the entity.
• 2022:March: The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed mandatory rules on disclosing climate-related information, including supply-chain-related emissions.
• 2023:
  June: The Australian Government flagged its intentions to impose standardised, internationally‐aligned requirements for disclosing climate‐related financial risks and opportunities.
• 2023:
  August: One hundred sixty-eight nations have adopted some elements of the International Financial Reporting Standards requiring domestic companies to take action.