In Sales Trend 2 of the Barrett 12 Sales Trends Report for 2022 the numbers speak for themselves, but we still looked a bit further into the business case for decarbonising sales operations.
This is a condensed version of Sales Trend 2, to read the original version you can download the report for free.
The numbers speak for themselves
When it comes to the economic case to decarbonise, the numbers speak for themselves.
In Australia:
Cost of keep on going as we are now over the next 30 years: $ 1,890,000,000,000
Cost of achieving net-zero emissions over the next 30 years: $ 106,810,000,000
It’s not about loss but about real economic opportunities
This is not about loss but about the huge upside and an abundance of business opportunities that decarbonising our businesses and economy delivers.
As Simon Holmes à Court, cleantech investor and Founder of Climate 200, said in 2021 ‘None of the major industrial companies I visited in Europe sees decarbonisation through a sacrifice lens. There’s no talk of “economy wrecking targets”. Rather, having accepted that the economy must be decarbonised, they are rushing to seize a competitive advantage.’
Decarbonising sales operations and businesses is about risk & cost management, creating new opportunities and ensuring business continuity
Let’s talk access to markets and risk management first.
Carbon-neutral businesses -and businesses with self-imposed carbon targets- are looking to buy and sell from those businesses with low or no carbon emissions. That alone leaves a big and rapidly growing proportion of the market out for businesses not considering their emissions. But there’s more, the European Union impending carbon border tax will impose a levy on products not manufactured inside the EU. The more emissions, the higher the tax, and the impact on price and therefore impacting competitiveness. There’s a similar scheme being discussed in the USA.
If we want to stay in business and keep selling it is going to be essential that we all look to decarbonise our sales operations, businesses, and supply chains to ensure continued access to world markets and economic, business, societal and environmental viability and sustainability.
Investing now for better economic and business continuity
Customers want -and in many cases demand- to buy from genuinely clean energy and sustainable businesses. The same goes for staff; employees want to work for businesses that are doing the right thing socio-economically, politically, and morally. Young people, in particular, won’t compromise their values to work for a business that is not on the right track when it comes to climate action.
The deadly cost of inaction
Over the next 30 years, if the current emissions policies remain (meaning we do very little), the increasing economic damages of climate change will cost the Australian economy at least $1.89 trillion, or roughly 4 per cent of projected GDP per year.
Decarbonising is good for business and cost management
Decarbonising a business presents unique opportunities around energy (sourcing and usage), that represent future savings and promotes good reputation and confidence from stakeholders.
We already have the technology we need to accelerate towards net zero emissions, including replacing coal- and gas-fired power stations with cheap, clean, and reliable renewable energy backed by storage technologies.
Technologies that become cheaper with increasing production enter a virtuous circle. More deployment => Prices fall => Competitive in new markets => Demand increases => More deployment.
Solar power, onshore wind and offshore wind all follow that virtuous circle.
However, the cost of electricity from fossil fuels and nuclear does not follow a learning curve. That is because in these cases the cost depends largely on two factors: the price of the fuel they burn and the power plant’s operating costs. Neither of these is set to decline significantly.
The sales opportunities and competitive advantage in decarbonising sales operations
Decarbonised sales teams can educate their clients about the importance of these solutions for the effectiveness and sustainability of their businesses and to our collective future.
Imagine our decarbonised sales teams, B2B and B2C, being able to effectively position their decarbonising value propositions as part of WHY US and their competitive advantage, helping clients and prospects make informed decisions about the impact of a cleaner, better, more sustainable future when buying from us.
By setting targets immediately, decision-makers can focus their attention on new solutions and prevent missed opportunities in technological investment, forging fruitful and prosperous client relationships, and attracting and retaining the right people.
It makes good economic and business sense to decarbonise our sales operations and businesses now.
Related topics
The Moral Case for Decarbonising Sales Operations
12 Sales Trends for 2022 – Decarbonising Sales Operations
12 Sales Trends for 2022 – The Event
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