The Climate Ready Initiative has strengthened national action towards a low carbon and climate resilient future with the addition of a 10th high-profile partner to its Climate Ready Australia 2030 Alliance of Peaks.
The Business Council for Sustainable Development Australia (BCDSA) is the latest Alliance partner to commit to the Climate Ready Australia 2030 (CRA2030) project. As the national peak body representing companies and organisations working towards the transition to a sustainable Australia, BCSDA will represent business from all sectors and industries to the Alliance of Peaks.
CRA2030 is the flagship project of the Climate Ready Initiative (CRI), which is the practice arm of Griffith University’s Climate Action Beacon.
CRA2030 brings together partners from across society to develop the shared agenda, investment plan and national capability needed to drive climate action in Australia.
Former Liberal Party leader Dr John Hewson AM is Chair of the Board at BCDSA and also a CRI board member.
Dr Hewson said the aim of the Alliance of Peaks was to identify common priorities for sectors and peak body members, and to use this understanding the underpin the development and advancement of a robust shared agenda for collective climate action.
“Peak bodies working with the Climate Ready Australia 2030 project are forward thinkers who want to prepare their industries for a better future and are committed to working together to achieve it. That aligns with the BCSDA’s mission to accelerate the transition to a sustainable Australian by making sustainable business more successful.”
“BCSDA sharpens the strategic lens of the Alliance. It’s the Australian partner of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), a community of over 200 of the world’s leading sustainable businesses from all sectors and economies, actively working to accelerate the system transformations needed for a net zero, nature positive, and more equitable future.”
Andrew Petersen, CEO of BCSDA says the organisation is proud to join the Climate Ready Australia 2030 Alliance of Peaks.
“The Alliance is committed to preparing industries for a better future, and as the national peak body representing sustainable businesses, we’re excited to bring our strategic lens and play a productive role. Our participation will significantly expand the reach of CRA2030’s activities, as we represent over 150,000 employees across Australia. We look forward to contributing to the development of a robust shared agenda for collective climate action and collaborating with our fellow partners to drive climate action in Australia.”
BCSDA is the 10th official Alliance of Peaks (AoP) partner, and joins the following organisations:
- Australian Institute of Landscape Architects
- Australian Youth Affairs Coalition
- Chartered Accountants of Australia and New Zealand
- EcoTourism Australia
- Engineers Australia
- Indigenous Carbon Industry Network
- Infrastructure Sustainability Council
- Planning Institute of Australia
- United Nations Association of Australia
CRA2030 provides a unique industry and professional engagement platform for identification and delivery of multiple research projects and partnerships.
CRI has worked with the Alliance of Peaks to finalise the first strategic phase of the Climate Ready Australia 2030 project: developing a Shared Agenda for climate action. This was tabled at the group’s February roundtable event. The Shared Agenda organises climate actions around four themes:
- Enabling policy to provide sectors with certainty for investment and climate action.​
- Capacity building of public institutions, businesses, organisations, and individuals to help embed and advance climate action.​
- Accelerating decarbonisation, by providing clarity on decarbonisation pathways and targets to help drive action and accelerate results. ​
- Adaptive resilience: adaptation will help to protect quality of life, bolster resilience, and provide appropriate hazard responses, goods, and services.
With the Shared Agenda now in place, the Alliance of Peaks is scoping its first projects, focused in the areas of climate policy, and the tracking and reporting of emissions.
The CRA2030 project is guided by CRI’s high-profile advisory board chaired by Rosemary Addis, with board members including Dr Hewson, Professor Brendan Mackey, Terri Butler, Tony McAvoy SC, Dr Helen Szoke, Leona Murphy, Sophia Hamblin Wang and Sam Mackay.
