- December 8, 2020
- Posted by: Kwesi Etsibah
- Category: International
Ahead of the fifth anniversary of the Paris Agreement, West Blue Consulting joins the SME Climate Hub and commits to halve greenhouse gas emissions before 2030 towards net zero before 2050.
West Blue Consulting on Monday 7th December 2020 became the first company in Ghana to join the SME Climate Hub, a new ground breaking one-stop-shop climate action platform for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to curb carbon emissions, build business resilience and take climate leadership.
The SME Climate Hub is co-hosted by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the Exponential Roadmap Initiative, the We Mean Business coalition and the United Nations Race to Zero campaign and has received support from several supply chain leaders, including BT Group, Ericsson, IKEA, Telia and Unilever.
West Blue Consulting has become one of the first signatories to the UN-recognized “SME Climate Commitment”, which forms part of the SME Climate Hub. In making this commitment, West Blue Consulting has pledged to halve its carbon emissions by 2030, achieve net zero emissions by 2050 and to regularly report on progress towards these aims.
On the logic behind the company’s decision to join the initiative, Valentina Mintah, Founder of West Blue Consulting said, “I am proud that by making the SME Climate Commitment, West Blue Consulting will be joining the United Nations Race to Zero, alongside governments, business leaders, universities, cities and regions all committed to achieving net zero emissions by 2050 at the latest. But it is not just about making a commitment, it is about taking concrete action and that is what we intend to do with the support of the dedicated tools and resources on the SME Climate Hub. I am inviting all business leaders in Ghana to join me.”
The SME Climate Hub was launched at the start of the UN General Assembly Week and New York Climate Week by the High-Level Climate Action Champion for the United Kingdom, Nigel Topping and ICC Secretary General, John W.H. Deton AO.
The SME Climate Hub not only allows small and medium-sized businesses to be internationally recognised for making a climate-science aligned commitment, but it also provides SMEs with a range of accessible tools and resources to help them reduce emissions and build business resilience. These tools and resources have been developed through a radical collaboration between the University of Oxford, leading climate scientists and business leaders from around the world. The platform couples these tailored resources with opportunities for businesses to unlock direct commercial incentives – from government tax breaks to procurement preferences provided by major businesses such as BT Group, Ericsson, Ikea, Telia and Unilever, who have all agreed to work with their SME suppliers to improve climate performance and also provide concrete tools, share knowledge and exchange best practices for implementing robust climate strategies through the SME Climate Hub.
Globally, SMEs account for over 90 percent of businesses and employ over two billion people. If the current pandemic has taught us anything, it is that SMEs are the backbone of the global economy and we need to ensure their resilience in the face of external threats in order to save lives and livelihoods.
One of the most pressing existential threats to SMEs is the climate emergency. It has the potential to slow economic growth by causing material damage; limiting resource availability; causing shifts in demand; leading to business interruptions and production
disruptions; causing supply chain interference; and forcing business closures. With 40 to 60 percent of small businesses never reopening after a disaster, curbing carbon emissions and building business resilience is critical.
In this context, Ms Mintah said, “It has never been more imperative to build business resilience and the SME Climate Hub tries to support small and medium-sized businesses to do just that so that the backbone of our communities and economies can thrive today and well into the future.”
About the SME Climate Hub:
The SME Climate Hub is an initiative founded by the International Chamber of Commerce, the Exponential Roadmap Initiative, the We Mean Business coalition and the UNFCCC Race to Zero campaign, with the aim of supporting small and medium-sized businesses to build business resilience. The SME Climate Hub provides a one-stop-shop for SMEs to commit to climate action and access tools, incentives and other resources designed to make it easier than ever for small and medium-sized businesses to cut carbon emissions, bring innovative green solutions to market and build business resilience.
