ambitions and objectives

INTEGRATING CLIMATE AND NATURE

A grey seal with large, shiny black eyes.

Alignment to SDGs

12: Responsible consumption and production. 13: Climate action. 15: Life on land. 17: Partnerships for the goals.

Ambition

Reduce our climate impact and enhance nature through integrated objectives that ensure progress in one area doesn't compromise the other

Climate change and the natural world, and our impact upon them, are intertwined. The following objectives will help us realise our climate and nature ambitions in a holistic manner.

Five piglets running through a muddy field. — Free range pigs in running in the paddock

Objectives

Embed holistic action across our organisation by:

Incorporating environmental stewardship into the Society’s Values and Behaviours Framework, to embed it as part of our organisation’s culture.

The Environmental Steering Committee, headed by the Executive Sponsor, leading this process and ensuring the Executive Team demonstrates a clear commitment to the plan.

Working with departments organisation-wide, actions will be incorporated into plans at "Head of Department Level", with overarching objectives set in senior leadership groups’ annual priorities.Teams will gain an understanding of the wider implications of the environmental crisis as well as role-specific knowledge needed to achieve our ambitions. Engagement will be driven across the organisation by our green champion volunteer network.

Manage the impact our banking, pensions and investments have on climate and nature by:

Continuing to work with service providers to ensure they are aligned with our charitable mission and long-term sustainability ambitions.

Exploring additional pension options with sector-specific exclusions (e.g. fossil fuels, biodiversity impact and deforestation) and providing colleagues with information on available funds.

Engage and collaborate with our branches on climate and nature topics by:

Setting up a central internal webspace where information, lessons learned and tools can be shared by branches and the national society. Holding regular environmental workshops and talks for sharing and learning.

Collaborating more closely with branches to help us all go farther, faster together under the RSPCA brand.

Reduce our supply chain carbon and nature footprint by:

Identifying risks and impacts across our supply chain.

Developing a sustainable sourcing plan (including targets) and standards with our Procurement and Retail teams that support nature and climate-positive supply chain practices.

Engaging with suppliers and service providers to accelerate action.

Leverage our influence and partnerships to scale up positive impact by:

Exploring how we continue to address animal welfare issues while better integrating climate and nature themes, including risk. This may be through our refreshed food and farming strategy which calls for a significant reduction in meat consumption by 2050; lobbying for policy change, developing education and awareness; research and innovation to improve welfare practices without environmental degradation; increased collaboration across the public and private sector and global partnerships; and identifying ways to incentivise practices that prioritise both animal welfare and the environment.

Partnering with organisations that have shared ambitions to achieve greater scale, harness expertise and leverage resources, at local, regional and global levels.

Collaborating and sharing information with our sector peers to tackle challenges together.

Sharing information with our supporters and adopters on environmentally responsible pet ownership, which was highlighted as important by animal welfare supporters in Cancer Research UK’s Public expectations of sustainability for charities survey (2023) we participated in.