HBR's 10 Must Reads 2023

Accounting for Climate Change

by Robert S. Kaplan and Karthik Ramanna

THE AUGUST 2021 REPORT of the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warns that pollution caused by humans has led to an increase in extreme events such as heat waves, heavy precipitation, droughts, and tropical cyclones. Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from global economic activity are at the heart of climate change, with atmospheric CO₂ already 50% above its preindustrialization levels.

Unsurprisingly, corporations face growing pressure—from investors, advocacy groups, politicians, and even business leaders themselves—to reduce GHG emissions from their operations and their supply and distribution chains. The nearly 200 CEOs of the Business Roundtable, representing ...