How to create value from climate change for businesses
A new handbook to help businesses generate value from climate change has been published. The guidebook, primarily intended for businesses in Lebanon, is a concrete outcome of the first year of the Lebanon Climate Act (LCA). It was presented at a ceremony in Beirut, Lebanon, on the 10th of July, attended by the 2017 Climate Change Champions from the private sector. Prizes were awarded to companies for demonstrating positive climate change leadership, while contributing to the establishment of the LCA Business Knowledge Platform, with concrete climate action plans.
The guidebook is designed to assist companies to kick start their process of corporate climate action. It has been produced with support from the ClimaSouth project, funded by the European Union (EU). The aim is to contribute to the collaborative and solution-oriented engagement of the Lebanese private sector in the fight against climate change, while generating lessons which may be cohesively up scaled in the wider Mediterranean region. Ultimately, the idea is that businesses may inspire governments to greater ambition in moving towards a low carbon economy that reconciles climate objectives with competitiveness.
The handbook is designed to help build a dedicated task force for climate action within companies. Each of the eight steps helps develop a set of concrete actions to align their environmental actions with stakeholders’ requirements as well as governments commitments. Exercises and relevant advice related to the most practical aspects of the development and implementation of a corporate climate change strategy are provided. Specific guidance is also given on how to measure greenhouse gas emissions produced by private companies. A case study at the end of the guidebook provides a concrete example of the application of the main tools presented.
The Lebanon Climate Act is supported by the Lebanese Ministry of Environment and implemented by the Green Mind NGO in partnership with Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture of Beirut and Mount Lebanon (FCCIAL) , the Central Bank of Lebanon and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). The mainstreaming initiative and training program for the establishment of the Business Knowledge Platform is implemented in collaboration with the ClimaSouth project, funded by the European Union (EU).
View or download the handbook
See also: