We only have to look at current weather events to know that our planet is struggling and that global business should be doing more to address the climate crisis.
But how can MedComms help and inspire others to act and spearhead meaningful environmental and sustainable change?
For an industry that is normally focussed on improving patient outcomes, it may be difficult to know where to start when thinking about how to help address environmental issues. Understanding the terminology could help.
Carbon Neutral and Net Zero: connected terms with distinct definitions
The term “carbon neutral” has been around for a while; organisations aiming for this offset their carbon dioxide emissions by enabling activities and resources that remove it from the atmosphere, usually through buying “carbon credits”, and this is something that businesses can implement now. In contrast, “net zero” is a long-term goal that requires organisations to reduce their entire emissions across their whole supply chain. Using the Science Based Targets initiative (https://sciencebasedtargets.org/) definition, this means a reduction of ~90% in every company’s direct and indirect emissions to limit the global temperature increase to 1.5° C. To prevent further damage to our planet from climate change, net zero must be a priorityfor all businesses.
There are different ways MedComms companies can achieve these goals
While it’s unlikely that any MedComms businesses produce their own greenhouse gases directly, we do have a responsibility to understand and measure our indirect emissions (from either purchased electricity or heat, for example, or emissions from our supply chain). It’s important to start asking the right questions: is our travel policy environmentally sensitive? How much energy is our premises using at night? Can we turn off computers, lights, and other devices? Even small changes such as these, when implemented consistently, will make a positive impact. However, just being carbon neutral should not replace any net zero targets, and this is where it gets more complicated for MedComms.
A Net Positive future
At The Salve, we are part of a new generation of businesses that are embracing the challenge of demonstrating our commitment to the planet and its people. As a pending Certified B Corporation, we want to redefine business success and encourage other MedComms organisations to support each other in addressing the climate crisis. We do not have all the answers or expertise to do this by ourselves, which is why we are working with Ecologi (https://ecologi.com) to offset our indirect emissions and ensure we are climate positive, and we will be embarking on our journey to net zero with them too. There are many organisations out there who can help MedComms businesses start to measure their indirect emissions and carbon footprint and who can support the implementation of net zero targets.
By prioritising net zero and offsetting residual carbon emissions, MedComms organisations can give back more than they take, and we can all aim for a net positive impact on the world.
The Salve Team