Climate change can’t wait
In the midst of a pandemic, Legal & General collaborated across the group to tackle a different crisis: climate change.
In the fight against climate change, the UK has committed to reaching net-zero emissions by 2050. Though the target is there, the path is less certain, and the radical change required is a complex jigsaw whose pieces are policy, capital, technological advancements, and behaviour change. It’s easy to support the transition to net-zero, but far harder to take direct action and have an impact. Legal & General set themselves the challenge of doing just that, determined to make a difference and create financial products that truly tackled the crisis.
Already at the forefront of ESG investing and with a wealth of expertise across finance (not to mention a £1.3 trillion investment portfolio) Legal & General wanted to create a movement that would further focus its people on creating innovative products. Against the backdrop of COVID-19, ten truly cross-functional teams set out to build ten propositions, each aimed at either creating or funding green projects that will accelerate the UK’s net-zero future.
Together with Legal & General, we adapted the programme almost overnight to become virtual.
The Approach: The Climate Change Accelerator launched just as the UK went into its first lockdown. Whilst climate change is a long term crisis, Covid19 was a very immediate crisis meaning Legal & General and Fluxx had to think on our collective feet and adapt the programme to become virtual. We set a regular rhythm for each team’s meetings and working sessions, kicking off with interactive remote workshops to articulate goals and introduce teammates to each other. Collaboration across company divisions is never easy, but we knew bringing together the power of Legal & General’s different business units would be the most effective way to create truly innovative products and have an impact on a crisis as big as climate change.
The projects tackled behemoth challenges like retrofitting the UK’s buildings, the decarbonisation of heat, sustainable investing, low-carbon construction, renewable energy, and supporting innovation in emerging carbon extraction technologies. Throughout the 4-month period, we worked with teams to delve into markets, funding structures, customer needs, potential partnerships, government policies, and associated barriers. Despite the added challenges of working in lockdown, the timing was right as “build back better” became the UK’s rallying cry to rebuild the economy sustainably.
Despite the added challenges of working in lockdown, the timing was right as “build back better” became the UK’s rallying cry to rebuild the economy sustainably.
The Result: Eight months and many pivots later, ten ideas had become two validated business cases, currently being built to go to market, both designed to invest billions more into renewable energy and the transition to net-zero. Of the other eight — five were brought back into the businesses, integrating the initiatives into existing teams and workstreams, while the other three teams recommended this was not the time to invest further. With eight climate-aligned initiatives and billions of funding being put towards tackling climate change, Legal & General can truly say it is at the forefront of a net-zero economy. Not only do the new products and initiatives strengthen Legal & General’s reputation as one of the leaders in the UK’s journey to net-zero today, in addition, the programme also brought colleagues together from across the group creating a movement. The new collaboration and ways of working combined with the community’s existing passion and commitment has armed the Group with deep knowledge of how to solve the climate change challenge and set the organisation up for success in the future.
With eight climate-aligned initiatives and billions of funding being put towards tackling climate change, Legal & General can truly say it is at the forefront of a net-zero economy.
Want to know more? Have a chat with Rich Poole or Rosie Wynne.
At Fluxx we’re helping some of the world’s best known companies solve and tackle some of the biggest issues and we’re very happy to share experiences or hear from others in the field. For more info on the work we’re doing check out these links or get in touch rosie.wynne@fluxx.uk.com.
