Discover the latest in sustainability this week with our concise roundup of the top news stories.
18/01/22
This past week was filled with interesting sustainability and climate news, we’ve summarised the top stories below.
Young people don’t want to work at unsustainable companies
According to research by Bupa, Britain’s young adults are willing to turn down roles and take pay cuts in order to work for more ESG-focused companies.
Almost two in three 18-22 year olds feel the burden of climate change on their shoulders, and the lack of action to tackle climate change affects the mental wellbeing of almost half.
Close to 60% of 18-22 year olds agreed they would stay longer with a company that had ESG commitments, as well as recommend it to others as a good place to work.
Of all ages, half of the people surveyed said they would be more engaged with their company, more satisfied in their work, and more productive overall if their employer had strong environmental and social commitments.
Court papers were filed last week by Friends of the Earth and ClientEarth, separately.
The government’s “pie-in-the-sky” climate strategy has been argued to illegally fail to include the policies required to achieve the promised emissions cuts, and amounts to climate delay and greenwashing.
ClientEarth state that “the failure to meet legal carbon budgets would contravene the Human Rights Act by impacting on young people’s right to life and family life”.
The Friends of the Earth’s action against the government claims that the government’s strategy on heat and buildings does not consider its impact on protected groups, including people of colour, people with disabilities, and children.
Bank of England tells banks to properly quantify climate change risks
The Bank of England (BoE) has told banks to be “ambitious” in their quantifying of climate change risks, or they will face regulatory intervention.
The BoE also states that banks should focus on how they incorporate climate-related risks into their business strategies, risk-taking, and decision making, and focus less heavily on climate-related opportunities.
Disparity between biggest sustainability issues and entrepreneurial interest
Entrepreneurs interested in addressing environmental challenges are being urged by industry experts to make a greater impact by exploring beyond trending topics.
While emissions from agriculture, the built environment, and industrial processes make up the majority of global emissions, and only an eighth of emissions result from vehicles, over 60% of venture capital is being put towards low-carbon transport options.
Experts have suggested that entrepreneurs are failing to investigate other areas for innovation due to a lack of awareness of issues in other sectors, for which solutions could have a greater impact.
