Something which has received quite a bit of attention in the Business realm last week was regarding the story involving Air New Zealand. They are now the first major airline to admit publicly they won’t hit their (admittedly very ambitious) 2030 climate goal.
It got our team thinking about sustainability, but also our goal setting in general.
Very few of us (either as individuals or as businesses) will achieve all of our goals – that is perhaps just how life is – so, should a Corporation be punished for admitting they are behind on their targets, or perhaps should they be praised for their honesty (in particular in this case avoiding the temptation to green wash)?
As accountants, we are very conscious of our professional ethical requirements. One of our key requirements & strongest values is integrity, which is ensuring that you’re honest and straight-forward.
Integrous persons believe if you give your word to something, it is about honouring your word; however, is not necessarily keeping your word as circumstances mean this is not always possible.
The bigger the commitment, the more obstacles to overcome that may have you not fulfil on your word. Where this happens, honouring your word would include disclosing where you have not fulfilled on certain things, and giving your new promise.
With this in mind, we are tending to fall on the side of applauding Air New Zealand for their honesty. It’s debateable as to whether they could have done things better internally to meet their targets, or whether they are entirely a victim of circumstance. The truth is somewhere in between. Despite that, Air New Zealand seem to have acted with integrity here. To their credit, the most impressive move is that they have done so without prompting from a regulator, and without political spin.
But let us not forget the specific Sustainability angle to their story.
We have seen a range of responses to Air New Zealand’s announcement:
- An array of media agencies are reporting that Air New Zealand is “abandoning” its climate policy. This seems like hyperbole (from the media – never in a million!). In addition, some outlets are using it as an excuse to “dance on the grave” of climate goals and sustainability in general. If this target cannot be met, doesn’t this mean all sustainability initiatives are a waste of time, that carbon accounting is completely bogus, and that the climate problem is just “too hard.”?
- Or – is it a bit like a rugby league or AFL team that loses a game early in the season, but to then refocus on the bigger picture goals of making the final rounds and/or winning a premiership?
For Air New Zealand and indeed for all of us, the bigger picture is not around 2030 targets, but about creating a more sustainable world and more responsible model of consumption.
Whilst Air New Zealand’s honesty is admirable, the broader implications of this may be that perhaps it is worth considering whether “climate policies” are the best way to achieve genuine sustainability results for the planets.
Perhaps, rather than setting specific arbitrary targets (e.g. “We will reach net zero by X date”), it will be worth focusing on the implementation of specific sustainability initiatives and tracking their progress.
Looking at our little corner of the world, we have multiple casual conversations with our clients regarding their businesses to gauge their interest in sustainability disclosures, and they’ve generally commented to, “our systems aren’t advanced enough yet,” or “we haven’t achieved everything we want to yet,” and therefore they don’t particularly wish to tell anyone about it.
We understand the sentiment, but as a general question, might it be better if they just made the honest admission; “we don’t know all the answers – we haven’t achieved all our goals – but we’re on the journey.”
Do you believe this is a better option than remaining silent altogether?
At CGA Accounting, we are encouraging people to start the sustainability journey. We are not expecting our clients to know all the answers, and neither do we. We might not meet all our short-term targets, but if we all take steps towards our big picture goal, it could be extremely rewarding.
We look forward to collaborating on this journey together, embracing sustainability and establishing comprehensive carbon accounting practices for a greener future.