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Fighting Climate Change With Agility
May 5, 2021 is German Overshoot Day, the day where we in Germany have used up our share of ecological resources that our planet can renew this year. For the remainder of 2021, we are taking an ecological loan to live and do business on a deficit. In other words, we in Germany need almost three times the resources that our planet can renew.
What’s the problem with this?
We are putting this deficit on all people without asking, because the ecosystem knows no national borders and the effects of climate change are felt by everyone. That means we live and do business at the expense of others. But what will we do when our planet has no resources left? We can’t leave this problem to the future!
Here’s a very strong call to act now:
The Federal Constitutional Court of Germany ruled that the Federal Climate Act is unconstitutional because freedoms and fundamental rights are being violated already today by inadequate climate protection.[1] So, let’s not wait but act now: Climate change is both the symptom and cause of overshooting our ecological budget. It’s caused by greenhouse gas emissions, about which in Germany 88% is carbon dioxide (CO2)[2].
As Agile Coaches we look at this challenge through the lens of agile principles and values. We believe that we need more action on these values in the world of business, to reduce our CO2 footprint:
- We need creativity in finding ways to drastically reduce the carbon emissions of our economy and society before we reach the tipping point at which climate change causes even more dramatic environmental effects. We need to start with companies and the business models responsible for most of the carbon emissions.
- We need openness to face the inconvenient truth that economies and their businesses will have to be different in the future in order to sustain our planet. Instead of economies and businesses that grow whether or not they make societies thrive, we need economies and businesses that make societies thrive whether or not they grow [3].
- We need focus on the big levers. Technological advances alone will not be enough to avoid drastic climate change [4]. We also need to focus on creating the political will to enact policies that encourage and promote business models that account for the cost of their ecological footprint.
- We need commitment. If we want to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, we have about 7 years left to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to zero [5]. Commitment not just to the well-being of shareholders but to the well-being of people, society and our planet.
- We need courage to go into uncharted territory and find new ways of doing business and going about our lives. This also means having courage to change our consumption habits so that we don’t live at the expense of others.
- We need respect for our planet. Without a functioning ecosystem there will be no place for current and future generations to live, thrive or do business.
What are we at Amazing Outcomes doing about this?
From now on we are dedicating ourselves to supporting companies that are genuinely committed to solving this challenge. We enable their teams and leaders to turn complex challenges into sustainable solutions through agility — for their business, for people and for our planet.
Source:
[1]: Press release, 29-Apr-2021, “Verfassungsbeschwerden gegen das Klimaschutzgesetz teilweise erfolgreich”, (accessed: 4-May-2021)
[2]: “Treibhausgas-Emissionen in Deutschland” (accessed: 4-May-2021)
[3]: Kate Raworth, “A healthy economy should be designed to thrive, not grow” (accessed: 4-May-2021)
[4]: Maja Göpel, “Unsere Welt neu denken”, Ullstein, 15. Auflage 2021, S. 97f.
[5]: ibid., S. 159.