No Greenwashing, No Excuses - the Planet is in Our Hands

The fight against climate catastrophe requires urgent action from government, corporates and individuals, said Tim Hodgson, founder and CEO of My Net Zero and Scott Laird, Chief People Officer of GroupM Australia & New Zealand, in their 2023 MFA EX talk. But individuals can make the fastest change, so now’s the time to get eco active, they said.

Hodgson shared the personal story of how his family set a five-year plan to reduce their carbon emissions by 2025, the 14 actions they agreed to take across five key areas and how it inspired him to establish My Net Zero.    

Hogson and Laird highlighted the ripple effect of collective action when it comes to preserving the environment and invited media attendees to create their own net-zero action plan, along with practical advice for getting started.

Here are their talk highlights:

We’ve got six summers until 2030, and emissions are still going up

Individuals can move a lot faster than corporates and governments. So, if we as individuals take action now, we have a real chance to reduce the emissions gap.

There’s power in numbers

When testing the barriers to climate action, uncertainty around how much of a difference we can really make as individuals was one of people’s main concerns. But as an industry, we are the changers – and there are 4,000 of us. If we rally together and work towards our own actions to net zero, we can make a significant impact.

Make your net-zero roadmap visible

Sharing your action plan, whether you hang it on the fridge in your kitchen or post it on LinkedIn, makes it a public commitment. It helps build a community around your plan, starts conversations, helps you grow your knowledge, and encourages others to get involved.  

Watch the full video of Tim Hodgson and Scott Laird’s talk here.