BSR | Co-creation for Climate Justice—Centering Communities in Corporate Climate Action In addition to climate risk assessments, businesses can use findings from human rights assessments or leverage existing relationships with community groups along the value chain as a starting point. Further analysis of how climate change and climate solutions may affect these communities is required. Besides identifying affected stakeholders across the value chain, this research can help businesses better understand where and how co-creation can be integrated into current business activities and project development. Understand Business Risks and How Business Activity May Contribute to Climate Injustice Businesses can deploy climate and people-related impact assessments to identify how their activities are affected by or contribute to climate injustices. The impacts on business and communities may be direct or indirect. Stakeholder engagement can further inform the business on how to address risks and advance climate justice. Addressing how the business contributes to injustices is paramount. Engage Stakeholders to Listen and Understand Their Needs An engagement plan can guide the company on how to conduct stakeholder engagement and social dialogue, which form the foundation for co-creation. Through stakeholder engagement and social dialogue, businesses can better understand Centering local how communities are affected, how communities communities—or taking approach challenges that face them, and what barriers their lead—to identify may exist in overcoming the challenges. Community their needs, goals, and and Indigenous knowledge should undergird efforts to co-create climate justice interventions. Centering local potential interventions is communities—or taking their lead—to identify their key to moving forward. needs, goals, and potential interventions is key to moving forward. Community-based and civil society organizations are experienced in working within their communities to design, implement, and advocate for localized climate solutions. These organizations often have the expertise and understanding of local challenges and community perspectives and need to be part of the engagement and co-creation process. 13