The report “SOS 1.5: The Road to a resilient, zero-carbon future”, developed by World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) in partnership with the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), points out the need for companies to accelerate decarbonization in all sectors.
Organizations' commitment to reducing their emissions is a first step, but the real challenge is to create robust and actionable strategies to bring about the necessary transformations and achieve the proposed goals.
The current emissions trajectory will lead to an increase in global temperatures of around 4°C by 2100. According to the report, this will result in a catastrophe, with impacts on the global population, food systems, biodiversity, and also the economy. The current emissions path will result in an estimated 30% drop in GDP per capita.
The SOS 1.5 initiative aims to shift total business decarbonization from ‘mission possible’ to ‘mission probable’ by supporting companies in developing strategies to achieve net zero emissions.
SOS 1.5 is for all businesses across all sectors, no matter what stage they are at in their decarbonisation journey, and aims to help organisations to: individually develop a strategy to move their footprint towards net zero carbon emissions; identify and remove barriers to a low carbon economy; mobilise their value chain and supply chains in the same direction.
Through extensive interviews with companies across multiple sectors, experts and partners, we gathered insights into the challenges companies face along their decarbonization journeys to identify where they need help and collaboration to move forward.
SOS 1.5 is a climate action framework for businesses to drive the transition to a 1.5°C economy.
- RESPONSIBILITY: Businesses have a responsibility to act to keep the world within a safe 1.5°C operating space: creating green jobs, delivering economic growth and building a more resilient society.
- ACTION PLANS: All companies must align with science and implement climate action plans to achieve net zero carbon before 2050. SOS 1.5 supports all business commitments and initiatives to achieve the 1.5°C target, providing a framework for all companies to implement climate action.
- COLLABORATION: SOS 1.5 is WBCSD’s blueprint for companies to collaborate with their peers and their value chain to accelerate the transition to a net zero carbon economy. WBCSD works on climate action projects across the energy, transport, buildings, agriculture, nature and industry sectors.
