Business Schools for Climate Leadership has put together this digital toolkit to help business leaders pose key questions and assess their readiness to act effectively to tackle this planetary emergency.

The first four chapters take an ‘outside in’ perspective, asking where a climate constrained world is heading and what it means for business. Attention to these topics will shed light on where opportunities lie to have a positive impact and where the vulnerabilities that will be further exposed by climate change lurk.

The final four chapters take an ‘inside out’ perspective and ask whether companies’ business strategy and capabilities can be leveraged or need to be altered to meet the challenges of climate action.

African enterprises are no strangers to complexity and volatility, thriving amidst the unique challenges of doing business on the continent. However, the European Union’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), a policy designed to prevent carbon leakage and mitigate climate change, presents a significant new challenge. This whitepaper, based on interviews in Kenya and South Africa, provides a clear explanation of CBAM and explores its far-reaching implications for African countries and businesses.

The analysis delves into the potential effects of CBAM in South Africa and Kenya, raising critical questions about hypocrisy, power dynamics, and responsibility. Will the policy effectively reduce carbon emissions, or will it impose unfair burdens on African enterprises? Additionally, the paper highlights opportunities for fostering new trade and manufacturing relationships across the continent and with non-EU countries, framing CBAM within the broader context of a ‘just transition.’