Climate action and sustainability striving under new conditions

Russia's war against Ukraine has led most of the international community, above all the Western countries, to act jointly and decisively. The agreed economic sanctions are comprehensive and affect a wide range of sectors and industries. The measures are also having an impact on companies in the Western countries: Many are forced to redefine their previous economic structures, such as the provision of raw materials, production and supply chains or financial flows, to make them more crisis-proof and sustainable.  

But there is no way around climate action - even in times of war. Sustainability and climate action experts Alice Berger and Anita Merzbacher consult companies for holistic sustainability with their agency UNO INO. Together with Moritz Lehmkuhl, Founder and CEO of ClimatePartner, the experts discuss how companies can herald change in a sustainable and forward-looking way in the face of the current humanitarian, political and economic crisis. 

The new political situation is forcing the economy and society worldwide to change. Is this forced change already a signal of the pressures for the change that climate change will bring? 

Anita Merzbacher: The war in Ukraine is like a burning glass: it aggravates the situation and shortens the time that companies have to position themselves sustainably, as increased energy costs, uncertain supply chains or unstable political situations lead to enormous challenges. In this new geopolitical order, companies that stick to a "business as usual" mentality will have to face increased risks. On the other hand, business opportunities can improve for companies that are courageous in breaking new ground and are willing to align their entire business in a sustainable way. 

How can the importance of climate action and a sustainability-oriented economy be prevented from taking a back seat?  

Alice Berger: We have to look at all current events as interrelated, in the sense of a holistic understanding of sustainability. Without a far-reaching and rapid transformation towards sustainable development, the next wars and refugee movements due to climate crises, hunger and poverty are just around the corner. The 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) illustrate this quite vividly in a circular logo: Each goal - from "No Poverty" to "Reduce Inequalities" and "Take Action on Climate Change" to "Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions" - conditions the others. None stands alone. We should start to understand and live this holism.   

Companies are currently trying to maintain their complex web of production and logistics. What is important to be considered here? 

Moritz Lehmkuhl: Although it is difficult for me to put it this way, in the face of so much human suffering, - it is precisely now that we must take the opportunity to turn forced changes into impulses for positive change. We are now ready to accept cutbacks as an opportunity for improvement, to deal with processing the new, the unknown. This applies not only to the phase-out of fossil fuels such as oil, gas or coal, but fundamentally to all previous certainties that were seemingly unchangeable. We are currently experiencing that a new reality is emerging at breath-taking speed. One-sided dependencies are becoming an economic and political risk factor.  

What would be concrete solutions to resolve these dependencies? 

Moritz Lehmkuhl: It is clear that dependence on fossil energy such as oil and gas needs to end. In the energy sector, for example, it will now be a matter of focusing on the expansion of renewable energies. This is not only a task of a state but can also be promoted and accelerated by companies - for example, by switching to green electricity, the use of solar or thermal energy and through general measures for energy saving and energy efficiency.  If I could end the war by stopping all gas imports from Russia overnight and temporarily going back to nuclear power instead, then maybe I would. 

Many companies are showing a willingness to act in the face of the war. Can this also be used for more climate action? 

Alice Berger: We see this quite clearly. A majority in Germany is in favour of an immediate embargo of fossil energies from Russia to increase our effectiveness for peace. Science also confirms that an immediate phase-out would be possible. If this were implemented, it would also have a huge effect on the climate.  

Moritz Lehmkuhl: I can only agree with that. The change in energy supply alone can have an enormous effect on the emissions of companies. Many are now ready - whether forced by circumstances or out of their own conviction - to allow fundamental changes. They should now think about climate action right away in every new process and every new decision.  

Resilience to crisis and adaptability are other buzzwords that companies are hearing now. How can they take these points into account?  

Anita Merzbacher: An essential point towards more crisis resilience is to analyse and understand the current situation with all its difficulties, e.g., with the help of a Sustainable SWOT analysis: Where are sustainability risks, where are opportunities, where are weaknesses and what is already going well? This brief look at the status quo is simple, but is not yet done in many companies, especially regarding sustainability aspects. Building on this, it is then a matter of aligning one's own corporate strategy in a sustainable way. Ideally, this also leads to a positive impact on society. Resilience in the sense of resistance to crises increases in the company when sustainability increasingly becomes a core element, i.e., part of the DNA of the company. 

Are long-term strategies providing solutions fast enough to limit the increasingly visible climate change? 

Moritz Lehmkuhl: All possibilities to get emissions under control and limit global warming must be leveraged. If this is done in combination with development work, knowledge transfer and holistic sustainability, all the better. In all transformation strategies, which are generally designed for the medium to long term, it is still important to also address those measures that are immediately effective. Calculating, reducing and offsetting emissions is an important method for this. It provides decisive impulses and indications as to the direction in which medium- and long-term reduction and avoidance strategies should go. It identifies the emission drivers as well as the effectiveness of reduction and avoidance measures. The current IPCC report explicitly addresses the fact that the dimensions of the threatening climate changes and the short time span of less than ten years make it imperative to increasingly tackle measures that are effective in the short term. 

What is your wish for the future? 

Alice Berger: The common understanding of climate action and sustainability is to secure and improve living conditions worldwide. It is important to maintain this understanding, because sustainability also means peacekeeping. 

Moritz Lehmkuhl: The current unity in business, society and politics shows that global action for more sustainability and climate action is possible. 

About UNO INO: 

The UNO INO network was founded in 2020 with the aim of anchoring sustainability in the core business and core values of companies, organisations and society. It brings together experts from the fields of management consultancy, sustainable transformation as well as social entrepreneurs and arts. It aims to promote new forms of business that think in economical, ecological and social terms.