Pleon’s Climate Stakeholder Report Uncovers Strange BedfellowsThere is a change in the climate - the professional climate. As greenhouse gasses have heated up the planet, the awareness has served to melt the frigid relationships between non-government organisations (NGOs) and businesses. The result is a decisive shift from the adversarial relations of previous decades. This is just one of the key findings of a new report from Pleon and the Amsterdam School of Business on climate change. The Pleon Climate Change Stakeholder Report reveals that over 70 percent of the Fortune 500 are involved in some kind of collaborative initiative on climate change – but very few are talking about it. 
Pleon Climate Change Study Finds Unlikely Partnerships
Companies Could do More to Promote Climate Change InitiativesAmsterdam, December 4, 2007. On the eve of the UN Climate Change summit in Bali, a new report reveals that while over 70 percent of the FT Global 500 are participating in at least one climate change initiative, the majority of them are failing to communicate these initiatives to key stakeholders and are missing opportunities to improve their market share and global reputations in the face of climate change
The Pleon Climate Change Stakeholder Report is a cooperative research effort between leading European communications consultancy, Pleon, and the University of Amsterdam Business School. The research, focused on the partnership activities of more than 350 global companies around climate change.
According to Lia Hull, who conducted the research for Pleon, one of the most interesting findings was the number of companies who partnered with traditional adversaries. NGO partners participated in more than a quarter (26 percent) of the climate change partnerships: “Participating in non-traditional partnerships in the face of the 2012 Kyoto deadline has become critical for companies attempting to navigate regulatory uncertainty, influence corporate governance, manage their environmental footprint and answer the demands placed upon them by stakeholders from the public and private sector.”
Specifically the he report calls out three missed opportunities surrounding these partnerships: a lack of communication to the general public about these initiatives; lack of strategy in selecting stakeholder partners and partnership initiatives around climate change; and the inability of many leading organisations to take a leadership stance within their respective industries.
Elaborating on the communications aspect, Pleon CSR Practice Group Leader Arthur van Buitenen explains that although 55 percent of the organisations in the study are participating in more than one multi-stakeholder initiative, not all of these companies are effectively communicating their commitment to climate change. “There are some very innovative initiatives that are leading to lower costs and improved emissions, yet very few of these companies are communicating this. We find that extremely puzzling and a missed opportunity,” he said.
Other findings of the report include:
- Approximately one third (30 percent) of the total partnership efforts in the study were aimed at influencing policy environment.
- Governments have made climate change a priority and represent the most active partners, present in 43 percent of the climate change activities.
- Of the 256 total partnerships identified in the research, more than half (52 percent) focused on innovation, research, or new market development.
Looking ahead:
The report has many implicates for future practices – particularly in the area of communications. Buitenen believes that consumers and citizens will be the next stakeholder group that businesses will need to engage in projects aimed at combating climate change. This “consumer” wave of engagement will gain momentum in the coming years: “To be convincing in their efforts, it is no longer enough for companies to partner with NGOs and other civic organisations. The consumer and citizen is now on the top of the action lists and that will involve more transparency and open communication about these projects”
In addition to an overview of current multinational activity in climate change partnerships, the Pleon Climate Change Stakeholder Report outlines practical strategies for:
- Identifying partnership opportunities
- Criteria for selecting stakeholder partners
- Linking partnerships and climate change communication to core business strategy
Read more about the Pleon Climate Change Stakeholder report:
Methodology
The Climate Change Stakeholder Report is based on data provided by more than 350 Financial Times (FT) Global 500 firms reporting to the 2004 Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), an international carbon emissions disclosure survey. The report identifies trends in multinational firms’ responses to climate change via multi-stakeholder projects. In addition to CDP surveys, data was procured and verified through research of company reporting mechanisms, websites, press coverage, and other independent publications.
Project Background
The Pleon Climate Change Stakeholder Report is a bi-annual report concerned with Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). The report represents a cooperative research effort between Pleon and the University of Amsterdam Business School. “The Climate Change Stakeholder Report” is a product of Pleon’s Corporate Social Responsibility Practice Group, lead by Arthur van Buitenen at the Pleon office in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Authors of the report are Lia Hull, Marjolijn Vencken, and Arthur van Buitenen.
Please contact:
Lia Hull
Pleon, Amsterdam
T. 31 20 487 4000
lia.hull(at)pleon.com
for further information and to receive the complete Climate Change Stakeholder Report.
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