You do not manage well what you do not measure well. Sticking to this basic principle is particularly important when it comes to dealing with the daunting challenges posed by climate change, says Daniel Zimmer, Director of Innovation, at the Climate-KIC
To deal with climate change we first of all need to understand that climate change is happening now, today, and is already affecting our economies and societies. We therefore need to overcome the notion that climate change will only have a negative impact on people’s lives in years to come or that it is a challenge for future generations.
The implications for our natural and economic ecosystems are widespread. To take one case in point, we already see the number of meteorological catastrophes is increasing – both in intensity and frequency - to the point where insurance companies have started to deny customers living in vulnerable areas the right to be insured.
As another example, the start of the harvest for most crops is being advanced by two to three weeks in European countries.
There are many more similar illustrations. The fact of the matter is that these consequences of climate change are progressively changing our economies, and we do not have the tools to analyse and measure their impact. We need to put systems in place to track the effects of climate change and its cascading consequences - both on a global level and at a more detailed local level.
So for example, we have global figures of greenhouse gas emissions but we miss the local ‘on the ground’ picture in our cities and rural areas. In my city, is it transport that is the greater emitter, or is it the building stock? If it is the building stock, is it primarily the residential buildings or the industrial?
Without clear data and tangible measurements we have no way of knowing what the priorities for effective action should be. And action is needed now, even if the targets set by cities, governments and international agencies seem to be in the distant future of 2030 or 2050.
What type of measuring tools and mechanisms do we need?
This need for measurement also applies to climate-related innovation. We can test and implement innovative tools - but without the capacity to measure their actual impact and quantify their cost efficiency, how can we convince stakeholders to get on board?
In order to develop meaningful tools to tackle climate change we must generate a better understanding of where, and how, it is already impacting societies and ecosystems. The difficulty here is not necessarily knowing what to “measure”, but ensuring we have the ability to monitor several factors, and to be able to correlate series of measurements ranging from meteorological data to economic and social ones in order to see the bigger picture.
The cascading effects of climate change are not straightforward. In addition they may impact at various time and spatial scales: a drought in South America may in turn affect prices of soya and of meat in Europe. In the globalised world we live in, our carbon, energy or water footprints originate from different continents. We need to see the link between our long distance activities, but also to detect small trends in our immediate surroundings.
Rebound effects
Similarly, our responses to these issues have to be monitored and assessed. Rebound effects for instance, are likely to reduce the performance of certain innovations. The occupants of refurbished houses for example, tend to increase the temperature or to open their windows more often, which in turn reduces the anticipated benefits.
This example highlights that the required tools and measurements are not always obvious. One measure currently being developed by the European Climate-KIC innovation project ‘Off4Firms: Employer-led CO2 and energy reductions by employees’ will to guide companies in the selection of incentives to promote CO2 emission or energy consumption reduction measures in their employees’ households.
Measurability in itself must be part of the innovation process. Without a clear demonstration of the performance of these inventions, they will not be deployed and not change our lives as they should.
Taking measurability to the next level
One of our projects illustrates both the importance and difficulty of measuring the impacts.
Climate-KIC provided funding to South Pole Carbon Asset Management Ltd, a based in Zurich, in cooperation with the University of Wageningen, to assist in the development of a new method to help large companies support changes in the behaviour of their employees through their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) policies. This method builds on benchmarking groups of employees to evaluate reactions to different incentives such as promoting climate friendly mobility, such as public transport or cycling, or increasing energy efficiency in their houses.
The project found that a number of CSR incentives did not have the desired impacts – in fact, they simply reinforced behaviours that were already changing, or were in place, and did not require the encouragement from corporate CSR programmes.
The beauty of the method is that it not only reveals the actual efficiency of a policy, it can also use the benchmarks of employees to stimulate behavioural change. Peer-to-peer comparisons, of energy consumption, for example, can be used for this, and can in turn be assessed by the method.
Initiatives like this demonstrate the real value of measurement tools and provide the tangible information that decision makers ultimately need.
If we really want our green initiatives to make a significant impact on future lives, we need to make sure that measurability is an integral part of the planning process.
In summary, real innovation that will change the status quo can only derive from clear data assessing the effectiveness of our actions. I am confident that if we focus our efforts on putting the right measurement tools in place now, we will be able to curb the causes and the impacts of climate change sooner than we think.
The implications for our natural and economic ecosystems are widespread. To take one case in point, we already see the number of meteorological catastrophes is increasing – both in intensity and frequency - to the point where insurance companies have started to deny customers living in vulnerable areas the right to be insured.
As another example, the start of the harvest for most crops is being advanced by two to three weeks in European countries.
There are many more similar illustrations. The fact of the matter is that these consequences of climate change are progressively changing our economies, and we do not have the tools to analyse and measure their impact. We need to put systems in place to track the effects of climate change and its cascading consequences - both on a global level and at a more detailed local level.
So for example, we have global figures of greenhouse gas emissions but we miss the local ‘on the ground’ picture in our cities and rural areas. In my city, is it transport that is the greater emitter, or is it the building stock? If it is the building stock, is it primarily the residential buildings or the industrial?
Without clear data and tangible measurements we have no way of knowing what the priorities for effective action should be. And action is needed now, even if the targets set by cities, governments and international agencies seem to be in the distant future of 2030 or 2050.
What type of measuring tools and mechanisms do we need?
This need for measurement also applies to climate-related innovation. We can test and implement innovative tools - but without the capacity to measure their actual impact and quantify their cost efficiency, how can we convince stakeholders to get on board?
In order to develop meaningful tools to tackle climate change we must generate a better understanding of where, and how, it is already impacting societies and ecosystems. The difficulty here is not necessarily knowing what to “measure”, but ensuring we have the ability to monitor several factors, and to be able to correlate series of measurements ranging from meteorological data to economic and social ones in order to see the bigger picture.
The cascading effects of climate change are not straightforward. In addition they may impact at various time and spatial scales: a drought in South America may in turn affect prices of soya and of meat in Europe. In the globalised world we live in, our carbon, energy or water footprints originate from different continents. We need to see the link between our long distance activities, but also to detect small trends in our immediate surroundings.
Rebound effects
Similarly, our responses to these issues have to be monitored and assessed. Rebound effects for instance, are likely to reduce the performance of certain innovations. The occupants of refurbished houses for example, tend to increase the temperature or to open their windows more often, which in turn reduces the anticipated benefits.
This example highlights that the required tools and measurements are not always obvious. One measure currently being developed by the European Climate-KIC innovation project ‘Off4Firms: Employer-led CO2 and energy reductions by employees’ will to guide companies in the selection of incentives to promote CO2 emission or energy consumption reduction measures in their employees’ households.
Measurability in itself must be part of the innovation process. Without a clear demonstration of the performance of these inventions, they will not be deployed and not change our lives as they should.
Taking measurability to the next level
One of our projects illustrates both the importance and difficulty of measuring the impacts.
Climate-KIC provided funding to South Pole Carbon Asset Management Ltd, a based in Zurich, in cooperation with the University of Wageningen, to assist in the development of a new method to help large companies support changes in the behaviour of their employees through their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) policies. This method builds on benchmarking groups of employees to evaluate reactions to different incentives such as promoting climate friendly mobility, such as public transport or cycling, or increasing energy efficiency in their houses.
The project found that a number of CSR incentives did not have the desired impacts – in fact, they simply reinforced behaviours that were already changing, or were in place, and did not require the encouragement from corporate CSR programmes.
The beauty of the method is that it not only reveals the actual efficiency of a policy, it can also use the benchmarks of employees to stimulate behavioural change. Peer-to-peer comparisons, of energy consumption, for example, can be used for this, and can in turn be assessed by the method.
Initiatives like this demonstrate the real value of measurement tools and provide the tangible information that decision makers ultimately need.
If we really want our green initiatives to make a significant impact on future lives, we need to make sure that measurability is an integral part of the planning process.
In summary, real innovation that will change the status quo can only derive from clear data assessing the effectiveness of our actions. I am confident that if we focus our efforts on putting the right measurement tools in place now, we will be able to curb the causes and the impacts of climate change sooner than we think.
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