As the most climate-critical discussions ever take place at COP27, Michelle Tucker, sustainability manager, UK & Ireland, urges companies to ensure that they are converting their own climate commitments into concrete action.
The 6th of November marked the start of the UN climate change conference, COP27, in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. As the devastating impacts of a shifting climate become more apparent almost daily, the onus on countries to deliver the actions needed to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement and meet the commitments made at COP26 is a global imperative.
There is clear recognition of the need to significantly accelerate activities to stem the rate of climate change if we are to limit global warming to 1.5oC. Even at current levels of warming, the destructive effects are pushing countries, regions, and communities to the edge, as they struggle to withstand a multitude of climate-related catastrophes.
The global undertaking required to deliver on the climate promise enshrined in the Paris Agreement is on a scale that has not been seen before. It requires an immense collective response and demands that every organization recognizes the role it must play, no matter how small that may be in the context of this global endeavour, to help reduce climate impact and create a more resilient society.
At Crawford we are not simply committed to playing a role, but rather to playing a lead role as we progress towards a net-zero carbon economy and strive to be nature positive in all that we do. That commitment extends out to our clients and their climate ambitions as we look to offer more climate-responsible products and services.
Our sustainability approach is designed to achieve a real-world impact and is based on what we refer to as the 4Ps: Purposeful Governance which is designed to ensure we hold ourselves accountable to our ESG standards; Planet Positive which is our commitment to the sustainable use of resources; People and Communities where our people are empowered to engage with local communities; and finally, Partnerships and Prosperity which sees Crawford collaborate with our partners to deliver true value.
It is vital that these pillars support concrete actions – and that is absolutely the case. There is such a broad spectrum of initiatives ongoing across Crawford that underpin our ESG endeavours. These range from the creation of our Responsible Business Committee and Working Group and the launch of our ESG software data platform, to the development of our near - and long-term greenhouse gas reduction targets and our annual Global Day of Service.
Crawford UK will also shortly be launching a new Environment, Social and Governance Policy, committing our organization to setting and delivering on targets in this area. We will also be launching a Sustainability Charter with Crawford Contractor Connection, a collaborative statement which we and our supply chain partner to address our key sustainability issues.
Looking beyond the immediate Crawford environment, we are supporting our clients in achieving their climate targets through the development of ESG-engaged products and services.
For example, earlier this year we introduced a new soil management policy called ‘Zero to Landfill’ to promote sustainable soil management – a critical aspect of efforts to reduce climate change and restore degraded soil diversity. By offering this program to our clients, we are helping to bolster their environmental credentials while helping to reduce carbon emission – and doing so in a cost-effective way given landfill taxes.
At Crawford, our primary function is to help restore businesses and communities at their time of greatness need. As the fall-out from our shifting climate grows that role is becoming ever greater. It is therefore imperative that every action is taken to reduce our climate impact so that we can reduce that need, promote greater resilience, and make good on all our commitments to restoring the climate balance that has been so badly skewed.
