Trusted Transitions look different by sector, but for each organization it involves:
- Setting credible short and long-term net-zero ambitions and goals.
- Taking meaningful action to meet those ambitions and transform its business.
- Ensuring honest and transparent communication with all stakeholders, from employees to communities, consumers to investors.
Working together with a third-party expert, we developed the following key areas to help assess whether new assignments for clients in heavy-emitting sectors are aligned with our climate principles. They include:
- Whether the organization has a public position on climate change, and aligns with the goals of the Paris Agreement. To assess this, we look not only at company positions but also independent reporting.
- Has the company set, or is it in the process of establishing a net-zero emissions goal, with both long-term and short-term targets? We hold the SBTi Corporate Net Zero Standard as the gold standard and assess emissions scopes 1,2 and 3, where available. We engage our clients on progress and recognize that this journey will look different across sectors and organizations.
- The nature of the brief and the process for ensuring communications are credible.
These assessments are part of our review process led by our Client Portfolio Management Committee, a peer-led, cross-geography team responsible for vetting new opportunities in line with our climate principles. Our board-level climate and sustainability committee, chaired by an Edelman external board member, reviews our progress on our climate principles quarterly. In addition, we are fortunate to have diverse independent experts who we call upon to provide their insights and expertise on particular cases to help shape our decisions.
We recognize that we have a vital role to play — using communications to drive action, lifestyle changes and cross-industry solutions. Climate change is the biggest challenge we have in front of us, the challenge that exacerbates multiple interconnected crises including social inequality, food insecurity, migration and biodiversity loss. We believe that progress will be made by engaging organizations across all industries and sectors, as well as individuals. We need an inclusive approach, one that covers the big tent, otherwise we will not get where we need to go on addressing climate change.
