. Perhaps that’s because most global organizations are already starting to feel its negative impacts. “It’s hard to ignore the increasing number of catastrophic, climate-related events affecting populations and geographies all over the world—from wildfires to increased hurricane activity to droughts to extreme winter storms,” says Deloitte Global CEO Punit Renjen.
A focus on near-term business issues or demands emerged as the top obstacle for implementing sustainability initiatives this year—up to 37% from 30% in 2020. In fact, the majority of executives said their organizations needed to cut back on environmental sustainability initiatives in some way due to the pandemic.
“If we don’t act, we are at increased risk of an alarming intensification and uptick in these climate-related disasters, which will likely affect almost every part of life as we know it,” he says. “That’s why it’s imperative that we take collective action now to avoid worst-case scenarios down the line.”
Executives cited education and the promotion of science-backed climate research as the environmental actions that are critical to spurring action and pointed to collaboration as an important way to advance progress and inform public policy solutions. However, to make significant environmental progress, Renjen believes business and government have a larger role to play beyond education and advocacy.
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