Keeping track of money is one of the most important measures a company can take to reduce its climate impact. We spoke with Ingmar Rentzhog from the media platform We Don’t Have Time, which works for climate action and advocates making a difference for the climate by moving money.
“What many companies don’t realize is that their biggest climate footprint doesn’t come from their own operations, but from the company’s bank accounts and pension funds for their employees, as well as from other financial investments. This doesn’t apply to companies in the steel and concrete industries, for example, but for many other companies, it’s actually the money that is the culprit,” says Ingmar Rentzhog, We Don’t Have Time.
Ingmar refers to the latest Carbon Bankroll report, which shows that the total carbon emissions for some companies in the service and ICT sectors would more than double if emissions from cash in the bank were included.
“The main reason is probably that the knowledge about the climate impact of money is far too low, both among companies, politicians, and individuals. That’s why We Don’t Have Time launched the Move The Money campaign, to raise awareness and increase knowledge about this. The more large established organisations that move their money away from companies that refuse to transition, the more it opens up for political regulation. It is much easier for politicians to regulate something when large financial institutions do not have a financial interest in that activity,” continues Ingmar Rentzhog.
Ingmar Rentzhog’s top three tips for those who want to climate-proof their company’s money management:
- Make the company’s cash sustainable by moving the money to a bank that has phased out or is about to phase out lending and investments in fossil fuels.
- Do the same with your employees’ pension funds.
- Communicate widely that you have done this and why it is so important.
At wedonthavetime.org/movethemoney, you can find concrete help on how your company can proceed, and there is also a database of how much banks have invested in fossil assets.
“I wish everyone realized how deep the climate crisis actually is and how little time we have to act to prevent the worst scenarios. I also wish everyone knew how incredibly easy it is to make a big impact by simply moving money,” concludes Ingmar Rentzhog.