Just transition

Aim

Sustainable development can only be achieved by striking the right balance between economic, environmental and social components. Decarbonisation of our global economy will only succeed if climate justice includes solutions for workers and communities, also known as a ‘just transition’.  

In light of the crucial role the private sector has to play in achieving a low-carbon world, the World Benchmarking Alliance (WBA) intends to assess 450 companies (as part of the decarbonisation & energy transformation) by 2023 on their contribution to a just transition by assessing their alignment with the goals of the Paris Agreement alongside their approach to addressing the social challenges of a low-carbon transition. These 450 companies employ around 24 million people, and hold immense influence to power a just transition. 

These assessments will be the first of their kind, publicly available and free. They will measure what these companies are doing to minimise negative impacts on workers, communities and the most vulnerable, as they work towards their low-carbon goals. This work is meant to be a unique and critical mechanism to hold these keystone companies accountable.

Approach

Launched in February 2021, our just transition approach report sets out how WBA proposes to approach these assessments, including how we will invite stakeholders to participate in the development of indicators for assessing companies’ contributions to a just transition through our multistakeholder process. It also includes a synthesis of the November 2020 findings from WBA’s Climate and Energy Benchmark and Corporate Human Rights Benchmark assessments in the automotive sector. Our timeline sets out the next steps and consultation moments in this process. 

Draft methodology

WBA’s methodologies and benchmarks serve as roadmaps for companies, setting out the steps they can take to meet the needs and expectations of their stakeholders. This draft methodology brings together the key just transition topics and issues on which stakeholders expect companies to act and is the result of WBA seeking expert/stakeholder advice. It describes the key just transition topics, proposed draft indicators, approaches to scoring and weighting, and timelines for the just transition assessments. Download the document below. 

Public consultation

We will be hosting a public consultation period for our just transition draft methodology, in which you can participate as detailed out below.

Multi-stakeholder roundtables:

WBA will be holding two multi-stakeholder virtual roundtables which will bring together actors working on climate action and social transformation for a deep-dive on the methodology and indicators. We will present our methodology and approach to assessing the role of business on just transition and facilitate feedback on how the assessments can grow to become critical levers for change. You can participate in the 90 minute virtual roundtables by registering at the following links: 

• Register here to join us on Wednesday 28 April, 09:00 London / 10:00 Amsterdam / 13:30 Delhi / 16:00 Singapore / 17:00 Tokyo / 18:00 Sydney
• Register here to join us on Thursday 29 April at 08:00 San Francisco / 11:00 New York / Buenos Aires 12:00 / 16:00 London / 17:00 Amsterdam

Survey: 

We invite you to share insights through our online survey which is the place for you to share your knowledge and written feedback on the just transition indicators and methodology. We welcome your insight to help us ensure the methodology and indicators are indicative of the actions business must take in order to contribute to a low-carbon transition which leaves no one behind. This survey is open from April 1 to May 14 2021 (it is now closed for input)