NFP sector must respond urgently to climate crisis
10 August 2022 at 4:52 pm
The not for profit sector includes 600,000 organisations employing one in ten Australians, so why are we not doing more to address the climate crisis, asks Paul Bird.
With each successive climate change report, the tone is becoming more urgent. The 2022 IPCC report warned that the world is set to reach the Paris Declaration’s 1.5ºC level within the next two decades and said that only the most drastic cuts in carbon emissions from now would help prevent an environmental disaster. It added that “the world is close to reaching tipping points on climate change”.
We may watch with amusement as the UK fails to cope with a record 40ºC high, but we already know the life-taking and life-changing effects of extreme bushfires, floods, and droughts across Australia. As the NSW premier said last month, “we’re seeing these events which we call one-in-1000-year events or one-in-100-year events now becoming one-in-one-year event’’.
We know the problem – the escalation of human-made greenhouse gas emissions – and the solution, which is reducing our greenhouse gas emissions (GHG).
So, on the brink of creating an uninhabitable planet for our species, why aren’t we in the NFP sector responding? We are up to 600,000 organisations employing one in ten Australians. Not only do we have a moral obligation to act, we could make a substantial difference with GHG emissions.
I don’t think it is Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy Ford Prefect’s SEP (something we can’t see, or don’t see, or our brain doesn’t let us see, because we think that it’s Somebody Else’s Problem). Rather, in a resource constrained sector, it is knowing where to start and finding a reputable source and partner.
As a manager in NFPs over the last 25 years, I’ve found it hard to find the time and headspace to get up to speed with GHG terminology and emissions applying to the organisation; creating the policy and authorisation documentation; establishing organisational awareness and buy-in; measuring GHG emissions with ease and integrity; effective reductions strategies and actions; purchasing accredited offsets; and certifying as net carbon neutral.
This is not just about saving our species. It is the ability to reduce the impact of climate change on the people you support. It is the ability to attract and retain staff, volunteers, corporate partners, and supporters who want to work for, and donate to, an organisation that is living out their personal commitment to environmental sustainability. It is the ability to attract and retain government funding and service contracts through demonstrating environmental sustainability. It is the ability to reduce the future litigation risk to your Board Directors from ignoring the impacts of climate change on your clients and organisation. It is the ability to control and reduce operating costs, as well as reward staff. It is the ability to position the organisation in a competitive market and build its reputation.
I advocate six sequential steps for your NFP to reduce and achieve net zero GHG emissions; prepare, measure, reduce, offset, certify, network.
In my experience of both sectors, NFPs are not businesses. They are relational, not transactional. The operate on consultation and collaboration, not command and control. This means a lot more preparation and planning – from consideration and approval by management and the Board to raising awareness and developing action plans with teams. If directive or rushed, staff and volunteers will not feel part of, and own, the challenge.
The measurement of GHG emissions needs to be done on an online calculator that provides the structure and integrity to be utilised to accredit the emissions in future to be able to certify carbon neutrality.
Reducing GHG emissions is a great opportunity to harness the passion and experience of staff across the organisation through a green team that assesses, plans, and actions initiatives.
To offset the remaining GHG emissions, and become carbon neutral, accredited carbon credits can be purchased from brokers at reasonable prices that also benefit communities in Australia and developing countries.
Certification of the organisation as carbon neutral will be increasingly important to publicly demonstrate the commitment and action in a competitive market for staff. Volunteers, donors and funders.
Lastly, to avoid reinventing the wheel, NFPs need to network and share their experiences.
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Paul Bird is the founder and director of Zero Together, Australia’s first social enterprise supporting not for profits to become carbon neutral.
Founder of social enterprise, Zero Together www.zerotogether.com.au
