Business leaders from the INSEAD Business School community have united to form the Community Impact Challenge (CIC), which has just been announced as an Accelerator to the Race To Zero campaign. Race to Zero is the UN-backed global campaign rallying non-state actors – including companies, cities, regions, financial, educational, and healthcare institutions – to take rigorous and immediate action to halve global emissions by 2030 and deliver a healthier, fairer zero carbon world in time.

In June this year, the CIC launched its 3rd and most ambitious challenge to date - to accelerate companies and organisations to join the Race To Zero. This challenge targets small to medium size organisations from within and beyond the INSEAD network to inspire organisation leaders, helping them to find out more about the Race To Zero campaign and to support the organisations in making the pledge with one of Race To Zero Partner initiatives. CIC has also recruited volunteer net zero experts to provide support to the companies, offer webinars to the audience for free, and to drive awareness and understanding towards net zero.

CIC’s initial goal was to help and mobilise 50 companies to join the race and make their pledge to halve global emissions by 2030. Just four months into the challenge, the team has supported over 100 companies in understanding the Race To Zero requirements. Today many of them are celebrating, having reached their target before the COP26 deadline, and becoming an official Race To Zero Accelerator!

Paolo Senes, CIC Co-Founder and member of the Core Team, commented: “The aim of the CIC is to mobilise a growing community with concrete actions to create a positive impact, aligned with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. We intend to raise awareness, educate, and trigger changes towards greater sustainability. Seeing hundreds of INSEAD community members hustle and design the CIC Race To Zero Accelerator to decarbonise many organisations and to make business a real force for good, is very exciting. We are proud and humbled to receive this recognition from the Race To Zero organisation.”

With the upcoming COP26 in Glasgow in less than two weeks (1-12 November), the CIC hopes to persuade more businesses all over the world to join the Race To Zero. Bridget Jackson, Business Engagement Lead, Climate Champions adds “With so much at stake in the climate crisis, we need all non-state actors to play their part in the Race to Zero. That's why we're grateful to organisations such as the CIC for helping raise awareness and encouraging so many businesses to join.”

To find out how to join Race To Zero or volunteer for CIC, please visit:  

https://www.communityimpactchallenge.org/cic-race-to-zero-accelerator.