Salesforce Hails Important Step Forward in Creating a More Sustainable and Transparent Economy
Salesforce welcomes Australia’s new mandatory climate-related financial disclosures legislation set to take effect in 2025.
This legislation mandates companies to report their climate risk exposures, the financial impacts of climate change on their operations, and the steps they are taking to mitigate those risks. This landmark move further pushes climate considerations into the boardroom and onto balance sheets.
The challenge of accurately assessing, reporting, and acting on climate risks is complex. However, it’s essential for long-term resilience and companies that adopt a proactive approach to climate risk management will not only meet regulatory requirements, but also gain a competitive edge. They will be better equipped to navigate the physical and transitional risks posed by climate change, while also appealing to investors and consumers who increasingly value sustainability.
Salesforce has been voluntarily reporting climate information, including climate data, since 2011. We have achieved net zero residual emissions across scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions, and reached 100% renewable energy by using renewable energy or renewable energy certificates that are equivalent to the global annual electricity use. We prioritise emissions reductions and compensate remaining emissions with carbon credits, primarily from nature-based solutions and technology. You can review our full disclosures on our investor website and in our annual ESG report.
In 2018, we recognised our existing systems couldn’t do what we needed to accurately report our own climate data. So we started building our own technology to accelerate our climate action strategy. Today, Net Zero Cloud is a comprehensive platform available to our entire customer community, one that offers a full environmental accounting platform managing water, waste and scope 1, 2 and 3 carbon emissions.
With the rise of generative AI, we are actively working to integrate sustainability, one of our key principles for responsible AI development, into our Salesforce platform. While this technology can be a force for positive climate action, we’re mindful of the large amounts of energy, water, and resources that fuel AI advancements. In response, our Sustainability and AI Research teams developed a sustainable AI strategy and we’ve worked closely with lawmakers to advance Sustainable AI Policies.
Clearly, technology can support implementation and overcome challenges associated with data availability, fragmentation, accuracy and consistency. Embracing AI technologies offers a robust solution by streamlining data collection and analysis, identifying patterns and trends and enabling predictive analytics. By harnessing the power of AI, and putting a priority on good data, organisations can have confidence in investor-grade compliance reports and focus more time on actioning insights to meet sustainable business outcomes.
We look forward to being a trusted partner for local organisations as they plan for a more resilient, climate-focussed future.
