The intersections between Climate and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Addressing climate change is a responsibility we all share. It is a systemic global challenge because of the risks it presents to our planet and life on it as we know it. Generally, we understand that we need to act more sustainably as individuals – and we expect our institutions, organisations and governments to do the same. We understand that if we do nothing, there are consequences like sea level rises, temperature changes, extreme weather events, loss of biodiversity and disruptions to systems which protect our homes, provide our food and give us access to safe drinking water.

Historically, organisations have incorrectly viewed those risks as a long term challenge – the need to ‘do the right thing’ has had to be managed against more immediate potential disruption to investor or business interests. However, as better data is emerges on the potential widespread financial impacts, risks and opportunities of climate change, and governments reach consensus on the need to act now, the interests of the economy, people and the planet have converged in a decade of urgent climate action.

Most organisations are now actively planning for a low-carbon economy. Investor expectations on what action is being taken are changing. Talent expectations on an organisations climate strategy and its connection to broader organisational purpose and culture is changing. Climate-related disclosures are tightening. And the physical, transition and liability risks of not acting increase by the day.

For Human Resource professionals and pension scheme managers, there are an array of emerging priorities across both the employee lifecycle and pension scheme member experience. We believe organisations and scheme trustee boards will be more successful in their climate strategies if they shape them using a diverse range of perspectives and build them with an inclusive mindset. Download our document to explore some of those priorities and provides the key actions HR professionals and pension scheme managers need to take