This article discusses a study on 14 million social media documents (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube), 330 million users (you are probably in the study) and 480 actions (ie, posting or commenting on a post), leading to this question:
- Why, despite increasingly obvious signs of climate change, are we not doing more?
The obstacles are as follows:
- Disconnected optimism
Rewards and centers ambitious – but unrealistic – ideas for solutions - Information gap
A lack of reliable and useful information promotes skepticism and a sense of powerlessness among citizens - Fear of downsides
An outsized focus on the negative consequences of action that can detract from genuine opportunities for change - Delegation of authority
The sense that tackling climate change is someone else’s job - Hopelessness
Feelings of defeat and pessimism, a sense that it is too late to do anything
Given that we help companies become environmentally certified sustainable, and besides helping the environment and future generations, certified sustainable companies make more money than their non-certified peers, we should have every company on the planet calling us. Yet, the fact is, less than 1% of SMEs pursue this opportunity to help themselves while helping the world.
We would add the following to the list:
- Fear of change – Most of us are not comfortable doing something new.
- Fear of lack of knowledge – Most business leaders do not feel confident they have enough information to make a decision.
- Fear of Time Commitment – Business leaders are afraid the process will take their team away from the Day Job.
At the end of the day, all these reasons contribute to lack of action, which is not just a risk to the planet, but also a lost opportunity for the business. This master class explains the benefits of becoming certified sustainable and also explains what to look for in a program. If a business follows this guide, it will be happy.