BEST PRACTICE
FRAMEWORK.
Our framework for membership organisations to make their impact
CAFA's Best Practice Framework provides the consistent, efficient, high-quality approach to embedding sustainability and net zero into your membership organisation and with your members.
Our Global Membership Sector Climate Commitment' sets out the following 6 principles which underpin our best practice framework for associations.
01
Take Climate Leadership
04
Align Policies & Advocacy
02
Understand Position & Need
05
Educate & Introduce Skills
Integrate into Strategy
03
06
Provide Resources & Solutions
Embed CAFA's 6 principles and follow our framework to make better decisions, act with confidence, accelerate change internally, influence stakeholders, engagement and support your members to reach net zero.
THE FRAMEWORK.
For Your Organisation
1.Integrate your ESG goals into your business strategy 2.Introduce policies internally that establish net zero and sustainability as a priority focus 3.Get your own house in order and lead by example by measuring, reporting your emissions 4. Set interim and longer term net zero targets 5. Create an action plan to reduce your organisations emissions annually 6.Communicate your internal position and plans with staff, key stakeholders, suppliers and members 7.Engage, communicate and involve employees, staff, board, council and volunteers as change makers to ensure behaviour change. 8.. Boost skills and introduce learning amongst your employees and embed your position and strategy as part of recruitment and new employee induction process.
Member Facing
1. Research
There are three types of research in CAFA’s best practice framework: - Research to understand what support your members need from you - Monitoring and reporting to understand the action/steps and progress that your members are making. This includes establishing mechanisms for monitoring and reporting members progress towards their net zero goals. This could involve developing standardised methodologies for emissions accounting and reporting, as well as conducting regular assessments of member companies' advancement, activities and performance. - Research and development to identify specific technologies, practices, and business models that can help and/or accelerate the transition of your members industry/profession. Research will likely require partnering with corporates, industry experts, academic institutions, and hosting innovation challenges if you don’t have the expertise internally. These types of partnerships may also introduce a potential income stream for your membership organisation.
2. Advocacy & Policy Development
CAFA’s responsible policy framework and guidelines for membership organisations include: - Advocating for policies that support your industry/profession’s transition to a net zero economy. This includes lobbying governments for supportive regulations, incentives, and funding mechanisms for renewable energy, energy efficiency, and carbon reduction measures. - Putting policies in place with your members that set expectations of your requirements of them in business and industry. Some membership organisations are putting specific codes of conduct/practice in place or mandating reporting of progress. CAFA has produced a set of Climate Policy Guidelines availble to download.
3. Education & Training
It’s crucial to understand what green skills and training your membership needs. If you don’t know already, you’d need to survey your membership to understand the specifics. Learning could include: - Generic awareness raising to help them understand the science and basics of climate change. - Skills on transition to net zero emissions and how to implement strategies to achieve it. - Specific industry /profession specific. Delivery of this could be via, informal learning and awareness sessions (online, face to face, in conference etc), part of voluntary or mandatory CPD programmes and/or embedded as part of your skills/competency requirements into your formal qualifications and training frameworks.
4. Resources & Information Sharing
Development of dedicated ESG, net zero and sustainability pages/hubs on your website to support members and wider community. Have a dedicated section, or regular features in your publications/journals. Run dedicated stream at your conference, run workshops, and webinars.
5. Facilitating Sharing Good Practice
Development of dedicated ESG, net zero and sustainability page/hubs on your website to support members and wider community. Have a dedicated section, or regular features in your publications/journals. Run a dedicated stream at your conference, run workshops, and webinars. Develop a dedicated net zero SIG, forum for groups of members to come together to share experiences. Create a platform/mechanism to showcase the good work your members are doing, as well as a mechanism for online knowledge exchange. Facilitate collaboration among member companies to share best practice, technologies, and strategies for achieving net zero emissions. There is a strong opportunity to also generate income and position suppliers to your membership, who may have an objective to sell solutions to your members.
6. Standard & Certification
Depending on your industry/profession there may be requirement and opportunity to develop industry-specific standards and certifications for measuring and verifying carbon emissions reductions. These standards can help ensure transparency and credibility in reporting efforts toward net zero goals.
7. Tracking Progress
Identify ways to track and monitor your members progress to net zero, This should include ensuring strategy and policies are in place, that emissons are being recorded, proactive action is being taken and that interim net zero targets are set. There is opportunity to use your standards and certifications if you have them, to establish mechanisms for monitoring and reporting member companies' progress towards net zero goals.
8. Networking & Partnership Building
Facilitate networking opportunities for member companies to form partnerships and collaborations with other businesses, governments, NGOs, and research institutions working towards similar goals.
9. Public Awareness & Outreach
Engage in public outreach campaigns to raise awareness about the importance of achieving net zero emissions and the role that businesses can play in this effort. This could include media outreach, social media campaigns, and public events.
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