Business models must change with climate - expert

Business owners must change their business models to meet the climate-change challenge, says Bruce Haase, head of business engagement at WWF International on Wednesday. Speaking at a pre-COP17 conference, he said the business must change the way it thinks about problem-solving and sustainable development.

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"Businesses will look at a problem and say, 'What's broken, and how do we fix it?' But with environmental issues, they are so linked to so many different factors, that we need a broader way of thinking," he said.

Climate-change problems do not happen in isolation, and adjusting to them must be transformational, he said.

Stilted communication is also problematic. Businesses, NGOs and governments may be using the same words but have different definitions, he said.

"Sustainable development - to business that means in the next 10 years. To NGOs, it means a very, very long haul. For government, it means finding stability in society," he said. "I don't know how many meetings I've been in where I felt like parties were talking completely past each other."

Adjusting business models will maximise profits, particularly in energy, he suggested. Prices for fossil fuels have destabilised and will become more and more volatile over time. Although renewable energy options require large investments upfront, the price for electricity will be stable and allow business to budget reliably. Businesses operate to serve shareholders or themselves and have lost the drive to serve society.

Business people must extend their conceptions of long-term investments to longer than their own lifetimes and their objectives to more than just serving shareholders, he said.

"It's about showing that a low-carbon economy can be very profitable. And it's not just about reducing your impact but also having a net positive effect on society."