Climate Fit: Supporting Supply Chain SMEs in Climate Action

Date and Time

February 2, 2023
12:00 pm-1:00 pm ET

Location

Webinar

Topic

Climate Change

Event Resources

Webinar Recording Webinar Presentation

Webinar Passcode: 6Mt!@HO3

Companies across industries continue to grapple with how to meet short- and long-term net-zero targets. Scope 3, which makes up the majority of companies' emissions, can often be the hardest to reduce. As a result, climate action is required at every level of business.

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) make up a significant portion of global value chains and play a critical role in reducing Scope 3 emissions and building resilience. Mobilizing SMEs to commit to and reach net-zero emissions by 2050 is essential to mainstream climate action across the real economy worldwide.

The SME Climate Hub, a global initiative of the We Mean Business Coalition, the Exponential Roadmap Initiative, and the United Nations Race to Zero campaign, launched Climate Fit, a free online training course to help SMEs reduce their carbon emissions.

This session will discuss how companies can leverage Climate Fit and other resources within the Hub to engage SME suppliers in climate action. Register now!

Scheduled Speakers

• Berkley Rothmeier, Director, Consumer Sectors, BSR
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Berkley Rothmeier
Director, Consumer Sectors, BSR
San Francisco
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Berkley leads BSR’s work with consumer products companies to align business and sustainability strategy and improve social and environmental performance. She also works across sectors to support BSR’s efforts to catalyze private-sector action on climate change and build value chain resilience.
With over a decade in the sustainable business field, Berkley has broad experience in reporting and disclosure, stakeholder engagement, issues management, and sustainability storytelling. Prior to BSR, she was part of Edelman’s Business + Social Purpose team and the Ceres water program. She has counseled companies in a variety of sectors and geographies, and she has collaborated with investors and NGOs to increase understanding of and action on sustainability topics.
Berkley holds a Master of Environmental Science from the Yale School of the Environment and a BA in Environment Studies from Yale University. 
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• Ariela Levy, Associate, Consumer Sectors, BSR
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Ariela Levy
Associate, Consumer Sectors, BSR
Washington, D.C.
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Ariela works with BSR member companies across various industries on sustainability management, with a focus on climate change and human rights.
Prior to joining BSR, Ariela was an Environmental Defense Fund Climate Corps fellow with Sustainable Jersey, where she helped New Jersey municipalities implement energy efficiency projects. Previously, she worked as a consultant with Amnesty International, where she helped develop the organization’s platform on tear gas. Ariela was also a research assistant for the Mexican Ministry of Health, where she researched the impacts of changing climactic conditions on dengue. Ariela’s experiences focus on the intersection of climate change, human rights, and health.
Ariela holds an MPA from Columbia University in Environmental Science and Policy as well as a B.S. in Society and Environment and B.A. in Public Health from UC Berkeley. She is a native Spanish speaker and is proficient in French.
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• Erin Leitheiser, Associate Director, Nature, BSR
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Erin Leitheiser
Associate Director, Nature, BSR
Copenhagen
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Erin helps lead BSR’s nature team where she focuses on the climate/nature nexus, including credits, nature-based solutions (NbS), and beyond value chain mitigation.
She leads engagements with companies to evaluate their nature impacts, devise nature positive strategies, and implement operational and supply chain solutions that further both biodiversity and decarbonization goals. She also works closely with companies on supplier engagement for Scope 3 emissions reductions and nature action, helping to develop resources like the Supplier Engagement Guide and the Climate Fit: Net Zero Training course on the SME Climate Hub. 
Erin brings more than 18 years of experience, including remaining on the faculty at Copenhagen Business School following her prior role as an Assistant Professor. Before academia, Erin worked in CSR and sustainability at Target, where she built external partnerships and developed strategies to drive both business resilience and community impact. She began her career in sustainability consulting, working on public policy and social impact projects for nonprofit, public, and private clients.  
Erin holds a PhD in Sustainability Governance from Copenhagen Business School, a MSc in Social Policy and Planning from the London School of Economics and Political Science, and a BA in Honors History from Gustavus Adolphus College. 
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