What can be done by our governments–and by each of us at our jobs– to create a sustainable future? In collaboration with Earth4All, we have produced a series of 6 short video explainers which take Earth4All’s large structural policy changes, the Extraordinary Turnarounds, explains them, and applies them to actions an individual can take or advocate at their company:
1. Ending global poverty • 2. Reducing inequality • 3. Empowering women • 4. Transforming food systems • 5. Transforming energy systems • 6. Upgrading our economic system
Ending global poverty
Why do we need to end global poverty?
Global poverty is a problem that we must correct in order to create stable societies, which allow all of us to work to mitigate the climate crisis while at the same time lead dignified lives. We can no longer sustain having a global imbalance of high-income countries which overconsume and low-income countries which struggle with basic needs. As is explained in the book Earth for All, “high income countries have been able to exploit cross-border trade to effectively “export” emissions to [low-income] producing countries”.
We must correct this imbalance not just because it is deeply unfair- but because it will contribute to global destabilization as a result of a worsening climate crisis. The good news is that we still have time to fix this.
Governments from high-income countries should cancel all debt from low-income countries so that they can instead focus on building economic and social resilience.
The International Monetary Fund should increase Special Drawing Rights allocations to at least $1.5 trillion USD, which will allow countries access to development funds without incurring debt.
International trade rules should be reformed to protect the industries in low-income countries from anti-competitive behavior by multi-national companies and cartels.
And intellectual property rights should be waived for climate solutions so that low and middle-income countries can implement and benefit from green innovation without needing to pay royalties or wait for a patent to expire.
What can we do at work to end global poverty?
Because businesses are at the heart of our global economies, we have opportunities in our jobs to help solve this problem. Here is what we recommend:
1. Do not support, purchase from, or work for companies that have unfair labour practices and exploit human labour in other countries.
2. Properly address your concerns about the exploitation of low-income countries in your company’s supply chain. Thoroughly vet supply chains for human rights abuses, as well as activities that pollute, harm nature or harm the economies of other countries. One way to do this is to work closely with suppliers and consult firsthand with the communities and workers on the ground.
3. Companies should actively share their intellectual property advances in the green transition, so that low-income countries can access technological solutions to climate change and poverty.
Sources: Earth for All, Jubilee Debt Campaign, Worldfavor, UN, CEPR, World Bank, Observer Research Foundation
2. Reducing inequality
Why do we need to reduce wealth inequality?
Decade by decade, inequality has risen in most advanced and major emerging economies, with the wealth share of the top 10%–and most dramatically the top 1%–increasing. This is a problem for addressing the climate crisis as inequality creates health and wellbeing problems which lead to social tension, which in turn makes it difficult for governments to make the long-term decisions required for climate adaptation and mitigation.
From an emissions standpoint, the top 10%–and especially the top 1%–are the drivers of the vast proportion of individual emissions. According to a recent report by Oxfam, billionaires who invest in highly emitting industries have emissions a million times higher than someone in the bottom 90 percent of humanity. And currently those with wealth are not incentivized to lower their direct emissions, which per capita are many times higher than all other groups.
Governments can help by increasing taxes on the richest 10% so that they do not hold more than 40% of the total wealth and use this money to more fairly distribute wealth, in the form of Citizens Funds or universal basic dividends.
They can also close loopholes to prevent tax dodging, and strengthen worker’s rights with laws encouraging and protecting trade unions.
What can we do at work to reduce inequality?
In addition to government action, there is opportunity for the places we work to aid in the turnaround, for company policies which strengthen workers’ rights build trust, shrink inequality and foster community-minded thinking. Here’s what we recommend:
1. Implement salary transparency within your company, which creates a culture of openness and fairness.
2. Actively address the wage ratio between leaders and workers. Executive-to-worker pay disparity has increased sharply in recent decades. We can repair this by deliberately shrinking the wage gap.
3. Encourage and support employee unionisation, which is not only good for workers, but for communities and for democracy.
4. Allocate a percentage of company board seats to non-executive employees, to ensure that decisions include perspectives from all company levels.
Sources: Earth for All, Credit Suisse, Lucas Chancel, Oxfam, Economic Policy Institute, Brookings, Forbes, Fast Company, Corporate Governance Institute
3. Empowering women
Why do we need to empower women to solve the climate crisis?
In order to build resilient societies able to adapt and mitigate the climate crisis, it is essential that all members of society are fairly represented and lead dignified lives, with the ability to attain economic security. Resilient societies have more trust in their governments, which allows them to make long-term decisions that benefit everyone.
And while women comprise approximately 50% of the world’s population, gender parity in leadership positions is still far off. According to the UN, globally less than 1 in 10 Heads of State and less than 1 in 4 Cabinet Ministers are women. According to Deloitte Insights, less than 1 in 5 board seats are held by women and less than 1 in 10 board chairs are women. Only 1 in 10 Fortune 500 CEOs are women. And according to the International Labor Organization, on average women are paid 20% less than men globally, in large part due to gender discrimination.
Government policy can help by making sure all girls receive an education and all women are given opportunities equal to men. Governments can create laws that require gender parity in leadership and board positions. And governments can strengthen their pension and social welfare systems, which will bring security to all citizens.
What can we do at work to empower women?
In addition to government action, there is opportunity for the places we work to aid in the turnaround, for company policies which empower women build resilient societies. Here’s what we recommend:
1. Provide salary and pay transparency. Companies should pay women the same as men for the same job and experience. Pay transparency increases efficiency, builds trust and reduces turnover. Pay equity can also form a key part of an organisation’s corporate social responsibility which is increasingly important for many stakeholders.
2. Provide parental leave benefits that are fair to both mothers and fathers. Allowing all parents time to bond with their children increases their and their children’s well-being, reduces the burden of mothers and prevents gender discrimination in the workplace.
3. To achieve gender parity in leadership and board positions, actively prepare women for leadership roles. Senior leaders should assure that emerging women leaders are given the same opportunities as men to network and display their abilities.
Sources: Earth for All, UNESCO, UN Women, Deloitte Insights, International Labour Organization, Fortune, McKinsey, Harvard
4. Transforming food systems
Why do we need to transform our food systems?
The way we farm, transport, and consume our food creates one of the largest pressures on our planetary boundaries, with the agriculture sector driving the breach of the biosphere integrity and biogeochemical flow boundaries.
It also accounts for nearly a quarter of global greenhouse gas emissions. Fertilizers emit the equivalent of 2.6 gigatonnes of carbon per year, an amount more than the shipping and aviation industries combined.
Agriculture is also the largest driver of biodiversity loss. According to a 2021 Chatham House report, the current global rate of species extinction is the highest it has been in the past 10 million years, largely due to agricultural conversion.
And our production of food is highly inefficient. According to the UN FAO, 32% of all food is wasted globally, while 828 million people globally are undernourished.
It is essential that governments in high-income countries end subsidies for harmful industries such as meat and dairy and instead reward farmers who use regenerative techniques.
And it is essential that all citizens transition to more plant-based diets, which will result in 75% fewer emissions, 75% less land used, 54% less water used, 73% less eutrophication and 66% less biodiversity impact.
What can we do at work to transform food systems?
In addition to government action, there is opportunity for us at the places we work–especially in the food industry–to aid in the turnaround. Here’s what we recommend:
1. Align food production to actual demand: This can be achieved by breaking down data silos and integrating data across the value chain so that predictive modelling can be used for more accurate forecasting. Factors like seasonality, consumer trends, and historical data are not effectively used in many parts of our food value chain. Moreover, efficient inventory management systems should be rolled out and used at scale to track product shelf life, rotation, and freshness to minimise food waste.
2. Sales channels should allow for more avenues of distribution: Farm-to-fork sales can minimise the distance and number of intermediaries between food production and the consumer's plate. Establish mechanisms for redistribution of surplus food at a discounted price. The upcycling of food allows for taking food by-products, surplus, or ingredients that might otherwise go to waste and creatively transforming them into new, higher-value food products or ingredients.
3. Explore plant-based food & eat all that is taken: With every day and every meal, each one of us has a choice. We can choose regional and seasonal plant-based food and only buy what we actually consume. We can all help reducing overconsumption and wastefulness.
Sources: Earth for All, Our World in Data, CGIAR, Stockholm Resilience Center, University of Cambridge, Chatham House, UN FAO, Peter Scarborough et al., European Commission
5. Transforming energy systems
Why do we need to transform our energy systems in order to solve the climate crisis?
The way we generate energy to heat and cool our buildings, power our operations and propel our transport is a massive greenhouse gas emitter, comprising nearly 75% of our global emissions, which continue to rise despite the urgent need for deep and rapid reductions. In 2022 CO2 emissions grew by 1.5% due to the need for extra heating and cooling caused by extreme weather. It is estimated that these 2022 emissions consumed between 13-36% of our remaining carbon budget to limit warming to 1.5ºC, making it possible to surpass the budget within the next 2-7 years.
Governments need to act quickly and aggressively to reduce emissions by replacing all fossil-based energy, electrifying everything, and tripling their investment in renewables, energy efficiency and storage. They should also encourage citizens to reduce energy consumption and lower emissions.
What can we do at work to transform our energy systems?
In addition to government action, there is opportunity for the places we work to aid in the turnaround. Here’s what we recommend:
1. Rapidly switch to energy-efficient equipment & renewable energy sources: Businesses should actively replace energy-inefficient equipment and appliances at the office and convert to renewable energy sources like solar to power buildings. Strict standards should be set for the purchase and use of energy-efficient computers, lighting, HVAC systems and other machinery.
2. Allow for remote work & incentivise alternative transportation methods: Remote work and flexible working hours can reduce emissions by minimizing the need for employees to commute by fossil-fueled cars to the office and reduce the energy required for heating, cooling and lighting office spaces. If employees need or want to go to the office, incentivise and subsidize low-emission transit methods such as biking and public transport. Remote-first meeting and conference policies can eliminate emissions from non-essential travel. All of these reduce a company’s scope 3 emissions.
3. Accelerate the low-emission home office: Companies can help society transition quickly by subsidizing the replacement of gas boiler heaters with heat pumps in employee homes, which will not only reduce emissions by 20-80%, but will save the employees money.
Sources: Earth for All, Our World in Data, Zhu Liu et al., International Energy Agency, GHG Protocol, Stratecta
6. Upgrading our economic system
Why do we need to upgrade our economic system?
Our current economic system focuses solely on growth in gross domestic product (GDP). GDP is the measure of the total value created through the production of goods and services in a country during a certain period. The calculation does not factor in citizen wellbeing or environmental impact. Yet GDP remains the key metric to which governments base their economic policies. This has led to many of the global problems we face today as profitability is prioritised over positive impact.
Shifting our economy's goal from GDP to wellbeing prioritises what actually brings value to our lives: our health, education, communities and nature. It supports the equitable distribution of finite resources and the thriving of our natural world and puts the economy back in service of the people. It is crucial for creating resilient communities who have capacity for action and are able to transcend challenges like climate change.
In order to make the transition, governments need to include their citizens in their policy decisions, financially support them through concepts like universal basic dividends, and adopt new wellbeing economic indicators to guide their policy decisions.
What can we do at work to help the transition to the Wellbeing Economy?
In addition to government action, there is opportunity at the places we work to educate, normalise and prioritise a focus on wellbeing. Here’s what we recommend:
1. Educate the workforce and allow everyone to help with solutions: The more employees understand the roles that economic systems and business activities play, the more empowered everyone is to assist- to adapt their professional work, make changes in their private lives and support the transition to the Wellbeing Economy. Educated citizens scale global action.
2. Nurture a culture of wellbeing in the office: Ensure holistic frameworks are in place to support employees’ physical and mental health, including counseling services, employee assistance programs and occupational health services. Companies should also consider reducing employee working hours- which not only improves wellbeing but also reduces individual consumption. Managers should both communicate the benefits of a wellbeing-focused workplace as well as spot early signs of stress, make supportive work adjustments and nurture positive relationships.
3. Make personal wellbeing a priority and spread the word: Each of us can tend to a good self-care routine including healthy approaches to diet, rest and relationships. And we can leverage our networks at work to bring awareness to and normalise a focus on wellbeing.
Sources: Earth for All, OECD, WWF, WHO, Wellbeing Economic Alliance, University College London, Chartered Institute of Personnel Development, Martin Pullinger
