WRIs green success recipe

The four steps above is according to the World Resources Institute (WRI) the way of succeeding on gaining competitive advantages on a warming planet which where published in Harvard Business Review last March under that title, competitive advantages on a warming planet. The authors are the President and a financial analyst at WRI, Jonathan Lash and Fred Wellington.

The first step is about getting to know your carbon footprint; you can’t manage if you don’t measure. And quantifying the carbon footprint also makes great sense if you’re an actor on a carbon market, like in Europe. One method for such quantifying is the Greenhouse gas Protocol (GHG), developed with the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) where different scopes provide measurable goals for carbon emissions. There are some other different tools, the International Standards Organization (ISO) is one and that has led to some more industry specific tools e.g. the International Council of Forest and Paper Associations.

The second step is about getting a grip of the carbon related risks and opportunities. The article make a great example of the forest products company Weyerhaeuser which have set very ambitious goals for its mills but should also consider other risks and opportunities along the supply chain as well as political, social and physical.

The third step makes company exposure to carbon related risks an issue to decrease and also states that the company must seize the opportunities to remain competitively. To summaries this step it is more of how to manage the two steps before. As stated earlier, you can’t manage if you don’t measure.

The great conclusion pretty much speaks for it own. The fourth step states that you have to do it better than rivals in order to get those competitive advantages on a warming planet.