In my last post I discussed things you can do – perhaps in your own home – to reduce the use of plastics. You can take those initiatives to a higher level by looking for such reductions in your projects and programs. Can this be taken to an even higher level – for example, your enterprise?
Actually, yes it can. But it goes beyond plastics. Here’s one way that you as an individual can produce an enterprise-level outcome. It has to do with a pledge and with something called “stubborn optimism”.
It’s short, informative and quite interesting background:
I mention “Stubborn Optimism” because it is at the heart of the organization “Global Optimism”, which in turn is the partner for something called The Climate Pledge.
The Climate Pledge, as summarized by this article in The Verge, is a call to businesses and organizations to take collective action on the world’s greatest crisis and to work together to build towards a safe and healthy planet for the next generations. The Climate Pledge was co-founded by Amazon's Jeff Bezos with Global Optimism in 2019. The Climate Pledge is a platform for signatories to work together on ambitious actions to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2040, 10 years ahead of the Paris Agreement.
There is a lot of good (who would expect anything else from an organization with Optimism In their name) on the Global Optimism site, I encourage you to have a look at.
For example, on their Events page, they state:
“Achieving a zero emissions future is not a far-off challenge. It’s one we must get on track for now. Science demands that we cut global greenhouse gas emissions by half in the decade between 2020 and 2030, in order to eventually meet the goal of net zero emissions by 2050 at the latest. This goal was adopted by 195 countries through the Paris Agreement. It is now the responsibility of all of us to act with the courage, urgency and solidarity to build the transformative solutions to thrive now and in the future. We work with like-minded people and collectives from all sectors, investing in the steps required to be on this challenging – and life-affirming – journey.”
Also on their Events page, you will find some high-quality podcasts including:
So there are some excellent resources for you. But let’s get back to the Climate Pledge.
The commitments of the signatories of the Climate Change:
Measure and report greenhouse gas emissions on a regular basis;
Implement decarbonization strategies in line with the Paris Agreement through real business changes and innovations, including efficiency improvements, renewable energy, materials reductions, and other carbon emission elimination strategies;
Neutralize any remaining emissions with additional, quantifiable, real, permanent, and socially-beneficial offsets to achieve net zero annual carbon emissions by 2040.
A quick perusal revealed these enterprises were indeed on the list:
If so, make sure your project team members are aware of it – your job as a project (and especially program or portfolio manager) is assure alignment of project outcomes and value with the enterprise’s high level mission and vision. This is amplified greatly in the PMI's 7th Edition PMBOK® Guide.
If not, you can be an agent of change by suggesting to your C-level leadership that they would be in good company by signing on.
Community Champion
