Intelligent CXO Issue 05 | Page 20

EDITOR ’ S QUESTION
Chris Bowden , Managing Director at Squeaky

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major new UN report has issued a stark warning of how climate change is affecting our planet , including extreme heatwaves , droughts and flooding . Governments are being called upon to do more , and businesses must also play their part . Chris Bowden , Managing Director at Squeaky , a B2B marketplace for green energy , explains more about how CEOs can help tackle the climate emergency .
Sustainability professionals have long encountered a mixed response from the C-suite when it comes to acting on Environmental , Social and Governance ( ESG ) issues . Thankfully however , the denial level among the C-suite on perhaps the greatest challenge of our time , climate change , is shrinking .
To say this is a relief would be an understatement . Why ? Because there is no time left to explain the need to act now to the naysayers , and no amount of peer-reviewed research will help either . Business leaders have been called up to join the cavalry and it is down to the CEO to lead the charge . They need to not only make tackling climate change a priority , but it must be considered the norm too .
Purpose-led behaviours are key to this transition and the unique position of the CEO can make this happen . It is this individual who can raise the ambition of its employees , reflect honestly on the challenges and shortfalls and set a definition of responsible leadership .
These purpose-led behaviours will then trickle down through middle management . Afterall , these are not only the people who split budget , develop products and lead teams , but they are also our future leaders who will carry this weight of responsibility far beyond our days .
Perhaps the biggest CEO challenge is to dig deep to unearth bad practices , seek clarity on myths and ensure the claims they make are indeed true to what they say they are . Only when the CEO holds up a mirror to see their true reflection will this important practice become norm in all levels of a business .
Unfortunately , bad practices are not uncommon in the supply chain and that includes the renewable energy market . Some suppliers in the UK source energy from fossil fuels and then buy REGOS ( or even worse European GOs ) and package this up as ‘ renewable energy ’ for their clients .
Imagine claiming that your company has committed to green energy , publicised this to your employees and customers in the media , only to find that you ’ re buying fossil fuel energy . This is just one of the many bad practices we need to lift the curtain on .
Decades of tiptoeing around , ignoring the unequivocable science and embracing the type of box-ticking culture that encourages only standardised Environmental , Social and Governance issues ( ESG ) has left everyone scrambling to avoid the irreversible impact of climate change .
Unless green-thinking , purpose-led behaviours and action runs through the veins of businesses and their C-suite , we will fail to prevent the catastrophic impact of climate change . This is not the time to experiment , this is the time to act . Titans of business may exist as a small collective , but remember , positive change has always been driven by the movement of the minority .

HOW DO YOU , AS A CEO , TACKLE THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE OF OUR TIME , CLIMATE CHANGE ?

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