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Six business domains where people-centered considerations can be embedded in climate action
Business domain
Governance
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This is about embedding responsibility for the impacts of climate action on people into board structures and executive mandates, with clear ownership, accountability and cross-functional collaboration across teams, such as sustainability, operations, risk management, HR, procurement and finance.
Climate and social issues often sit across different teams, creating gaps in ownership and decision-making. Strong governance establishes the commitment, accountability and cross-functional collaboration needed to deliver a people-centered transition. This helps connect climate and people-centered considerations in decision-making and translate commitments into coordinated action across the business.
Key questions to ask
- Has your company made a commitment, internal or public, to address the impacts of its climate plans on people?
- Does your executive or board actively track progress against that commitment?
- Is there a cross-functional structure spanning critical functions handling climate and human rights-related issues that turns commitment into coordinated action?
A practical pathway to greater maturity
Commitment
Beginning
- Company has an internal commitment to addressing impacts on people as part of its transition plan or activities.
Developing
- The internal commitment is documented in writing and an executive sponsor is accountable for it.
Established
- Executive leadership has endorsed a public-facing commitment to implement a “just transition” or a similar commitment to address the impacts on people related to its climate plans.
- The company can articulate at a high level what this commitment means for their company context and business strategy.
Leading
- The board and executive have publicly committed to a “just transition” in line with international climate and human rights standards (e.g. the Paris Agreement, the UNGPs).
- Senior leaders regularly communicate internally and externally about this commitment.
- The company can set out in detail what this commitment means for its business context and strategy, for example in its climate transition plan or sustainability reporting.
Oversight
Beginning
- Executive and board are noy yet engaged.
Developing
- Executive leadership has been engaged on "just transition" or on potential impacts on people from climate-related plans.
Established
- Executive leadership receives periodic updates on the company’s progress against its “just transition” strategy/action plan.
Leading
- The board (or most senior governing body) regularly reviews progress, challenges the ambition of the strategy/action plan and holds the executive accountable for results.
Cross-functional structure
Beginning
- Climate and human rights/social specialists meet on an ad hoc basis to collaborate on this topic. This can be done within the context of an existing format such as a sustainability group.
Developing
- Climate and human rights/social specialists meet on a regular basis to collaborate on this topic.
- Colleagues in additional functions who are critical to driving integrated action on climate and human rights (e.g. strategy, operations) have been engaged.
Established
- A cross-organizational working group has been established with executive membership or buy-in, or an existing sustainability committee/working group considers climate and human rights issues in an integrated way. The mechanism / structure is actively engaging across corporate functions to embed the company’s commitment to integration.
Leading
- There is evidence of strong cross-organizational embedding and implementation of the climate and human rights strategy, such as integration into functional performance plans, and operational activities across business lines.
