Resources

Search below for resources covering the intersection of climate engagement, social science and data analytics.

RESULTS

Reframe corporate climate messaging around materiality, not morality. There is strong support for companies reducing carbon pollution, investing in clean energy, and communicating about their efforts to do so. The key to appealing to the broadest set of stakeholders is to frame climate action around materiality– not morality. In other words, businesses invest in climate-related efforts not just because they’re good, but because they’re good for business. Investors and consumers alike believe clean energy technology will shape the future of the economy. The best way for businesses to broaden support without antagonizing skeptics is to frame corporate action through the financial materiality of climate-related risks and opportunities.

CLIMATE REALITY ON-SCREEN: THE CLIMATE CRISIS IN POPULAR FILMS, 2013-22

The Buck Lab for Climate and Environment at Colby College and Good Energy, a nonprofit story consultancy for the age of climate change
Research & Articles
04-30-2024

In July 2023, as the world experienced its hottest day, week, month, and year in recorded history, UN Secretary-General António Guterres declared that “the era of global warming has ended” and “the era of global boiling has arrived.”1 The world is not acting quickly enough to respond to the pace of climate change. As NASA climate scientist Peter Kalmus observed, “we are losing Earth on our watch.” We are living through a crisis that touches every aspect of our lives, and therefore has a place in every contemporary story. Today, films set in the present or near future that do not include climate change can be considered what they are: fantasy. But there are too few studies examining whether popular films reflect our climate reality. This gap in knowledge prevents us from understanding climate visibility and represen- tation in popular entertainment, as well as the related challenges and opportunities. The Climate Reality Check, a Bechdel–Wallace Test for a World on Fire, pro- vides audience members, screenwriters, filmmakers, studios, and researchers with a straightforward way to evaluate whether climate change is represented—or omitted—in any narrative.3 This two-part, binary evaluation tool is simple, illuminat- ing, and powerful.

Research & Articles
10-10-2023

Most Americans say that major companies should be involved in environmental advocacy. 93% of Americans say that major companies should support improving environment and sustainability practices. 61% of Americans say that major companies should be involved in advocacy about improving environmental and sustainability practices, including 75% of Democrats and 57% of Republicans.

This report examines the availability of EVs being sold at car dealerships and the barriers to consumers who are in the market for an EV. Key findings include:

From divergence to convergence: Examining the energy transition expectations of oil and gas executives and investors

Amy Chronis, Kate Hardin, John England, Teresa Thomas, and Anshu Mittal. Deloitte
Research & Articles
01-01-2023

Amid a growing focus on net-zero, a recent Deloitte survey compares the expectations of oil and gas (O&G) executives and institutional investors around the energy transition. O&G companies cite a 28% average reduction in emissions over the last three years and remain confident about achieving a 50%–60% reduction in emissions by 2030. Additionally, there is a recognition that the O&G industry offers high dividend and buyback yield to investors, leading all industries with a combined yield of 8% in 2022. Although their paths toward net-zero might not be completely aligned, there seems to be a shared consensus between executives and investors on the industry’s potential to achieve its overarching goal.

Time to Put the Fossil-Fuel Industry Into Hospice

Andrew J. Hoffman and Douglas M. Ely. Stanford Social Innovation Review
Research & Articles
09-01-2022

If humanity is to survive the climate crisis, we must manage a just and orderly transition away from fossil fuels. Acknowledge the full scope of the problem. Recognize the limited scope of economic policy solutions. Accept that substantially reducing greenhouse-gas emissions presents an existential challenge for the industry. We face the challenge of managing “compassionate destruction,” in which we guide all the complex and expansive elements of the fossil-fuel sector through a just and orderly transition to a carbon-free economy. Bring about the end of the entire sector through corporate collaboration. Protect workers and avoid labor flight during transition. Overcome political and social resistance to change. Account for the full scope of the financial impact of the transition. Control the fate of products both used and unused. Protect indirect workers in related industries. Maintain justice and equity for all communities. Decommission, remediate, and repurpose dedicated infrastructure. Leverage the power of government. Overhaul business education as if people and the planet really matter.

Americans overwhelmingly support mandatory corporate disclosures of climate data and agree that companies have a responsibility to reduce their environmental impacts. 94% of Americans (including 90% of Republicans) say that it’s at least “somewhat” important for America’s largest companies to be transparent about their environmental impact. 88% of Americans (including 81% of Republicans) say that America’s largest companies have at least “some” responsibility to reduce their environmental impact by using sustainable materials and renewable energy. 87% of Americans (including 77% of Republicans) say that it’s at least “somewhat” important for America’s largest companies to publicly report data about their climate impacts. 86% of Americans (including 74% of Republicans) support the federal government requiring large companies to publicly report climate data.             

Research & Articles
01-31-2021

What is “net zero”? Are the consequences for “net zero” the same for everyone? Friends of the Earth International’s 2021 report argues that the net zero commitments by multinational corporations and governments are “smokescreens” that hide these entities’ inaction. Instead, we should be aiming for actual reductions in the amount of carbon emission we are creating — a “real zero.” Instead of making real changes, the “net zero” plans will lead to carbon offset markets. These carbon offset markets then will likely require that large areas of land in the Global South be dedicated to offsetting carbon. This will effectively ignore the needs of local communities, whose autonomy over their land will likely be challenged – with indigenous communities being particularly vulnerable. Outsourcing carbon emissions to the Global South is not how we should combat climate change. “Real zero” is the real goal.

Research & Articles
05-04-2020

Most Americans are underestimating both the potential economic impact of climate change and the role that entrepreneurs and investors can play in rectifying it, according to Inerjys Ventures, a global climate solutions investment firm:

  • Fewer than two in five Americans (38%) believe climate change will damage the U.S. economy if it is not addressed.
  • About one in five Americans (19%) think it will cost more to solve climate change globally than it will to fix the problems that arise from it.
  • A quarter (25%) of Americans don’t think efforts from U.S. entrepreneurs/start-up companies are important in the fight against climate change.
  • Only about a third of Americans (35%) believe there is not enough money being invested in technology that could help prevent or fix climate change.
  • 42% say the U.S. government has more of a responsibility than U.S. companies to address issues in America that cause climate change.