Climate change, global warming, extreme temperatures—these and other environmentally focused headlines are increasingly consuming our media feeds each day. From ongoing commentary on the cost of weather-related climate disasters in 2017 to the water drought crisis unfolding in Cape Town, it’s clear that the effects of climate change are global, and the impact can be seen and felt all around us.
As a company with operations in more than 100 countries around the globe—and $2.8 billion in purchasing power that we deploy through our global supply chain—we recognize that we are not immune to the effects of climate change on our business and operations. Climate change presents a current and future issue for our planet. Only collective solutions focused on both the short and long term will enable us to slow its effects, thrive in its existence and significantly impact the future outcomes for generations to come.
Organizations across the globe, such as the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals or CDP’s efforts to measure environmental impact, are already working on such solutions. These are just two examples of the many initiatives that seek to bring companies, organizations and individuals together to address climate change today, while also identifying what we can all do to make a positive impact for the future.
Bei Nielsen sehen wir die Auswirkungen des Klimawandels in unserem Unternehmen auf vielfältige Weise. Steigende Temperaturen führen zum Beispiel zu höheren Kühlkosten für unsere Rechenzentren. Höhere Treibstoffpreise wirken sich auf unsere Datenerfassung und unser Konzept der Reiseeffizienz in unserem Kundendienstmodell aus. Die Relevanz des Klimawandels ist branchenunabhängig. Er ist in unterschiedlichem Ausmaß Teil des Risikoprofils der meisten globalen Unternehmen, ganz gleich in welchem Sektor. Und diese Sichtweise geht über die Risiken im Zusammenhang mit steigenden Kosten hinaus.
Ende 2017 haben wir dies aus erster Hand erfahren. Inmitten der zahlreichen wetterbedingten Klimaereignisse im vergangenen Herbst galt unsere Hauptsorge natürlich unseren Mitarbeitern. Die Sicherheit und das Wohlergehen unserer Mitarbeiter hatte und hat für uns immer oberste Priorität. Disaster Recovery und Business Continuity sind seit Jahren Teil unseres Enterprise Risk Management (ERM)-Prozesses. Aber diese Ereignisse haben die Notwendigkeit unterstrichen, nahtlose Systeme für künftige Möglichkeiten einzurichten, sowohl um unseren Mitarbeitern zu helfen als auch um negative Auswirkungen auf die Erbringung unserer Dienstleistungen für unsere Kunden zu minimieren.
Understanding the climate-related risks to our people and business, and ensuring we have the proper governance channels and tactical systems in place, are integral to our climate-change strategy. We are currently finalizing our first climate risk assessment, working with an independent provider to evaluate what the physical and transition risks related to climate change mean for our unique business and global footprint. By better understanding and quantifying our susceptibility to the effects of climate change, we seek to prioritize our risk management activities, inform our evolving climate-change strategy, and share more information with our stakeholders about potential climate risks related to our business.
By being prepared to respond to, mitigate, or even prevent a business risk from climate change, we look to address the vulnerability that bridges the gap between present realities and future success in an increasingly resource-constrained world. We plan to share the results of this assessment in our second Nielsen Global Responsibility Report, publishing in June.
We’re committed to continuing our global sustainability efforts in the work we do every day. Our Technology/Operations Sustainability Council already guides our environmental sustainability work, particularly when it comes to identifying and creating new operational efficiencies. We also acknowledge the power of grassroots efforts and the role each one of our associates has to play in this. Our volunteer Nielsen Green leaders work with teams across real estate, facilities, and operations in their offices and communities to continuously identify and advocate for more sustainable ways of interacting with our natural environment.
Da die Earth Week vor der Tür steht, freuen wir uns, unsere Mitarbeiter auf der ganzen Welt zu mobilisieren und sie dabei zu unterstützen, die von uns verursachten negativen Auswirkungen auf die Umwelt weiter zu reduzieren.
Nielsen befindet sich auf einer Reise. Wir sind uns unserer Verantwortung bewusst, auf Kurs zu bleiben, positive Veränderungen zu beschleunigen und weiterhin neue Umwelteffizienzen zu schaffen, die sowohl unseren ökologischen Fußabdruck verringern als auch Risiken mindern, wo immer und wie immer wir können.
Crystal Barnes is SVP, Global Responsibility & Sustainability, Nielsen, and Executive Director, Nielsen Foundation.
