Every month we look across the sector, to identify resources and reports that assist in the application of the Future-Fit Business Benchmark.
In November we are taking a look at Vancity’s paper on implementing a living wage, Project Drawdown’s report on climate solutions at work, and TCFD’s new guidance on metrics, targets, and transition plans.
A Living Wage roadmap for large employers – Vancity
This paper outlines the process that Vancity went through to become a living wage employer to encourage other large companies to implement a living wage strategy. The report describes seven key steps that they took which can be replicated by others:
- Gain senior leadership support;
- Form a living wage employer working group;
- Review your current employee base;
- Analyse your supply chain;
- Set a budget figure;
- Apply for living wage certification; and
- Keep current with the prevailing living wage rate.
The roadmap also provides useful links and resources related to living wages. The essence of this report is directly aligned with BE11: Employee wages which states that all employees must be paid at least a living wage. The document can be used to kick start a practical plan for tackling this Break-Even Goal.
Climate solutions at work – Project Drawdown
This report is an employee guide to drawdown-aligned business. A drawdown-aligned company leverages all aspects of its business— its social, political, and financial capital—to reduce emissions well beyond its own operations and help secure a just climate future for all.
For many employees, the importance of climate action has taken centre stage, but it can be hard to know where (and at which levels) to accelerate climate action in the workplace. Inside most companies, only a handful of people with “sustainability” roles consider climate issues part of their workday. But in this most all-encompassing challenge in human history, every job must be a climate job.
This guide analyses different leverage points in turn and highlights how individual employees can help accelerate a trajectory to net zero (see Figure 1). Examples of these leverage points include stakeholder engagement and collaboration, investments and financing and business model transformation. The comprehensive report outlines practical and detailed actions to take, accompanied by copious external resources to support such actions.
The purpose of this report is well aligned with the elimination of greenhouse gases throughout a company’s value web. It addresses direct emissions as outlined in BE06: Operational GHGs and BE18: Product GHGs and also draws attention to the importance of scope 3 emissions within supply chains and financial assets, as addressed by BE04: Procurement and BE23: Financial assets. Finally, the report also covers actions which would fall within the Positive Pursuits. For instance, it calls on employees to publicly advocate for climate policy and to push trade associations on climate action. Hence it is a well-rounded overview of how employees can ensure their company is not only mitigating its negative impacts but also actively contributing to our transition to a Future-Fit Society.
Guidance on Metrics, Targets and Transition Plans – TCFD
The Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosure (TCFD) was created to develop voluntary, consistent climate-related financial disclosures that would be useful to investors, lenders, and insurance underwriters in appropriately assessing and pricing climate- related risks. Increasingly TCFD guidance is becoming integrated within regulation across the globe as requirements for financial disclosure moves toward consolidation, with the G7 backing compulsory TCFD in the future. The paper is laid out with the following sections:
- Climate-Related Metrics. This section aims to support organizations’ disclosure of climate-related metrics by discussing characteristics of effective climate- related metrics, describing the types of information organizations should consider including in their disclosure of climate-related metrics, and setting out categories of metrics for disclosure across industries.
- Climate-Related Targets. This section provides an overview of the types of information the Task Force believes are useful to include in disclosures of climate-related targets as well as examples of quantified targets that align with the cross-industry, climate-related metric categories.
- Transition Plans. This section provides guidance on considerations around the disclosure of transition plans, including example disclosures.
- Financial Impacts. This section provides additional guidance for organizations aiming to assess and disclose the financial impacts of climate-related risks and opportunities.
The trajectory to net zero and alignment with the Paris Agreement encouraged by TCFD is mirrored by the Break-Even Goals related to greenhouse gases – BE04: Procurement, BE06: Operational GHGs, BE18: Product GHGs and BE23: Financial assets. The climate disclosure outlined by TCFD is a great complement to the Benchmark.
