CEO应对气候挑战的五种方式-波士顿咨询

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FiveWaysCEOsCanTakeOntheClimateChallenge

OCTOBER18,2022

By

MarkoLackovic

,DanielOehling,

KarMinLim

,

DaveSivaprasad

,

JaimeRuiz-Cabrero

,

JeffreyChua

,

MichelFrédeau

,

NikolausLang

,and

BurakTansan

alikerealizetheirdecarbonizationcommitments.

Thesestrategicstepscanhelpcompaniesindevelopedanddevelopingcountries

Moreandmorecompaniesaroundtheglobearemakingboldcommitmentstoaddressthe

climatechange

thatimperilstheplanet.Yetmanyofthemstruggletorealizethesecommitmentsbecauseoftheformidableimplementationchallenges

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involvedinmakingdecarbonizationviable.Toachievetheirgoals,companiesmustaddressanarrayoffinancial,organizational,andregulatoryrequirements.

Fromourworkwithclimateleadersindevelopedandemergingmarkets,wehaveidentifiedfivepracticesthatareespeciallyhelpful—fromreexaminingoverlookedstrategicleverstofacilitatingajust

transition.1

Companiesthatputthesepracticestousecanacceleratetheirtransitiontonetzero,andlikelythriveaswell.

TheRoadblockstoSuccessfulTransition

Thenumberofcompaniesworldwidethathavemadesustainabilitycommitmentshasgrownsignificantlyoverthepast18months.(SeeExhibit1.)AsofJune2022,one-third(702)oftheworld’slargestpubliclytradedcorporationshavesetnet-zeroemissiontargets,upfromone-fih(417)inDecember2020,accordingtothe2022NetZeroStocktakereport.

Ouranalysissuggests,however,thatmanycompanieswillmisstheirtargetsbecauseofthemassiveobstaclesstandingintheirway.Decarbonizationtechnologiesrequiresignificantamountsofcapital,forcingsomecompaniesto

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makedifficultinvestmenttradeoffs.Thetimehorizonsarelong,withmanytargetssetfor2050.Andcompaniesmustnavigatecompliancerequirementsatatimewhentheregulatoryenvironmentisinflux.Organizationalchallengesaredauntingaswell—fromacquiringtheneededclimateexpertise,toobtainingfullorganizationalsupportforthecompany’sdecarbonizationpriorities,toensuringthatallstakeholderstakepartinthejourney.

SettingtheSceneforNetZero

Toovercometheseobstacles,augmentsustainabilityreadiness,andacceleratethetransitiontonetzero,fivepracticesarecritical.

REEXAMINEOVERLOOKEDSTRATEGICLEVERS

Today,makingclimateactionacentralfocusof

strategy

andpurposeissocommonplacethatitwon’tdistinguishonecompanyfromthenext.TofindsourcesofwhatBCGcallsa

sustainabilityadvantage

,companiesshouldseekdifferentiationinstrategicleversthatothercompaniesmayhaveoverlooked.

Asafirststep,companiesshouldassesstheirproductsandservicesagainstpeerofferingstoensurethattheportfolioisadequatelygreen.Theyshoulddecarbonizeproductswherepossibleandconsiderwithdrawingofferingsthatarenoteco-consciousinfavorofonesthatare.Theseshort-termactionswillhelpfundthelong-termagenda.

Organizationsshouldalsotakeadvantageofthefactthatinvestorsincreasinglyfavorcompaniesthatfocusongreengrowth.Asa2022studybyWorldEconomic

ForumandBCGdetailed,suchcompaniesreceivehighervaluationsandobtain

accesstocheapercapital.Withthesepointsinmind,companiesmayconsiderrestructuringtheirbusinessestomakethemmoreattractivetoinvestors,andthosewithrenewablesunitsmaychoosetospinthemofftoachievehighervaluationsandsecuremorefundsforbroaderdecarbonizationoftheirbusinesses.

REDESIGNTHEORGANIZATIONTODELIVERIMPACT

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Evenifitsportfolioisgreen,acompanymaystruggletorealizeitsnet-zeroaspirationsunlessappropriateleadership,organizationalstructures,androlesareinplace.

Sinceclimateactioncomesfromthetop,companyleadersmustfullyalignontheirnet-zeroambitions.Theymustalsoensurethatemployeesunderstandtheorganization’sclimategoalsandtheirownrolesinthetransition.

Adedicatedunitshouldmonitortheexecutionoftheclimatestrategy.Topreventduplicationofeffort,theunitshouldclearlydistinguishtherolesofthecorporateentities,whichprovidestrategicguidance,fromthoseofthebusinessunits,whichareresponsiblefordevelopmentandimplementation.BP,forexample,hassetupitsStrategy,Sustainability&Venturesbusinessentitytodefinethecompany’sstrategicdirectionandtoguideotherbusinessunitsindevelopingandimplementingclimatemitigationinitiatives.

It'salsocriticaltohavetherighttalentandskillsetsonhand.Companieswillneedtoadjusttheirhiringstrategiestobuildexpertiseinareassuchas

ESGpolicy

,renewables,carbonmeasurement,accountingandmanagement,andgreenfinancing.

BUILDCOLLABORATIVEECOSYSTEMS

Theenergytransitionrequiresanunprecedentedlevelofcollaborationacrossorganizations,sectors,andvaluechains.Onlybyforgingecosystemsofdiverse,committedplayerswillorganizationsbeabletomobilizelarge-scalechangeattherequiredspeed.

Ecosystemsoffersomeimportantbenefitsthatcomeonlywithscale.Forexample,theyenablecompaniestomarkettoaglobalaudienceandjumpstartglobaldemandfornewsolutions.Thenetworksthatpromotegreenhydrogenofferagoodexample.(SeeExhibit2.)

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Equallyimportant,ecosystemsprovideaplatformforattractingandmobilizinginvestmentsthatareessentialforcatalyzingbreakthroughinnovation.OneexampleistheClimateChainCoalition(CCC),anopenglobalinitiativeofover300organizationsin50countries.TheCCCisdedicatedtoadvancing

blockchain

andothertechnologiesnecessaryformobilizingclimatefinanceandenhancingmeasurement,reporting,andverification.

Ecosystemsalsohelpcreatetransparencyandtrust.TheGlobalCentreforMaritimeDecarbonization,foundedinSingaporelastyear,aimstohelpshapestandards,financeprojects,andsupportcollaborationacrossstakeholdersinthemaritimeindustryforthepurposeofeliminatinggreenhousegasemissions.

ADVOCATEANDSHAPEGREENPOLICIESANDREGULATIONS

Atransparentpolicylandscapeiscrucialforcompaniesthatwanttoprogresstonetzero.Whengovernmentpoliciesaretransparent,companiescandeployexistingtechnologiesmorequicklyandinvestinnewoneswithgreaterpredictabilityandlessrisk.Forexample,clearannouncementsandphasingofacarbonpricemechanismwillimprovethebusinesscaseforlow-carbonsolutions,thusencouragingcompaniestoinvestincleantechnologies.Companiesshouldactively

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engagewithregulatorstoproposeandsupportpoliciestoacceleratetheadoptionofgreentechnologies.

Transparentpoliciesalsopromotedecarbonizationinpublicprocurementbecausetheysignaltosuppliersthatthegovernmentviewsclimateimpactasanimportantselectioncriterion.Ifthegovernmentincorporatesclimatemetricsintoitsprocurementrequirements,itcancatalyzebroaderchangeintheeconomy.

Companiesshouldalsohelpbuildsuitableregulatoryframeworksandlow-carboninfrastructuretosupportasuccessfultransition.AgoodexampleistheCaliforniaCarbonCaptureCoalition,agroupofmorethan100companies,unions,conservationandenvironmentalpolicyorganizationsdedicatedtodevelopingacomprehensivepolicy,regulatory,andeconomicframeworkthatCaliforniacanusetoleveragecutting-edgeclimateactiontechnologies.

PLANFORAJUSTANDORDERLYTRANSITION

Thenetzerotransitionislikelytoprovidemajorbenefitstosocietyasawhole,creatingnewjobsandboostingGDP.However,higherenergytariffsandjoblossesinfossilfuelsectorsmayalsooccur.

Companies,therefore,shoulddeviseaplanforajusttransitionaspartoftheirbroaderESGagenda.Amongotherthings,theplanshouldincludeprogramsforreskillingandupskillingworkerswhoareaffectedbytheclimatetransition.

ConsiderZEPAK,aPolishcoalcompany,whichisshiingitsfocustorenewables.Toensurethatminersarenotlebehind,thecompanylaunchedapilotprogramin2021toprovidetraininginsolarphotovoltaic(PV)technologyandinstallations.Theprogramalsoprovidesassistancetopeopleseekingemployment.

Ajusttransitionplanshouldalsoensurethatlow-incomehouseholdsandsmallandmedium-sizeenterpriseshaveaccesstoaffordableenergy,andthatemergingmarketscanobtainfundingtocombatclimatechange.Aswehavefoundinourworkin

SouthAfrica

,achievingajusttransitioninacountrydependsonensuringthatthenationhasthefinancialresourcesitneedstotapintoitssupplyof

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renewableenergy.France,Germany,theUK,theUS,andtheEuropeanUnionhavecreatedapartnershiptohelpprovideSouthAfricawithsuchfunding.

Althoughthefivepracticesdiscussedhereshouldprovehelpfultocompaniesacrosstheboard,therelevanceofindividualpracticeswillvarydependingonwherethecompanyisinitsnet-zerojourney,aswellasonhowwelldevelopeditsmarketis.CompaniesindevelopedmarketssuchasthoseinWesternEuropemayhaveanadvantagesimplybecausetheystartedearlierandenjoythesupportofgovernmentsthathavecommittedtodecarbonization.

Developedmarketstypicallyalsohaveaccesstoawiderrangeoffinancingsourcestosupportthetransition.Althoughachievingajustandorderlytransitionisimportanteverywhere,emergingmarketsareespeciallysensitivetotheissuesofsocialandeconomicinclusivity.Consequently,companiesinemergingmarketsmustensurethattheymaintainelementssuchasenergyaffordabilityandsecurityduringthetransition.

Regardlessofwhetheramarketisdevelopedoremerging,thepathtonetzeroisunlikelytobestraightforward.Astherecentglobalnaturalgassupplyshockshavedemonstrated,externalcircumstancescanchangewithoutnotice,forcingcompaniesandcountriestorevisittheirdecarbonizationplans.

Progresstowardnetzeromustbeclearlythoughtoutanddeliberate,withplanningthatprioritizesresilienceaswellasspeed.Thefutureofourplanetdependsonit.

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Authors

MarkoLackovic

ManagingDirector&Partner

Singapore

DanielOehling

Partner

Singapore

KarMinLim

Principal

Singapore

DaveSivaprasad

ManagingDirector&Partner;

SoutheastAsiaLead,ClimateandSustainability

Singapore

J

aimeRuiz-Cabrero

ManagingDirector&SeniorPartner

Singapore

J

effreyChua

ManagingDirector&SeniorPartner

Singapore

MichelFrédeau

ManagingDirector&SeniorPartner

Paris

NikolausLang

ManagingDirector&SeniorPartner;GlobalLeader,GlobalAdvantagePracticeMunich

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BurakTansan

ManagingDirector&SeniorPartnerIstanbul

1Ajusttransitionreferstoanapproachtogreen