Why you should pay attention to the biodiversity crisis
April 14, 2022
The practice of relocating business activities or outsourcing operations to another country, often to reduce costs or meet strategic objectives. In an environmental context, offshoring may occur for reasons such as:
- Reducing a company’s reported emissions by shifting production abroad.
- Avoiding stricter environmental regulations in the original country by relocating to a country with more lenient laws.
- Taking advantage of lower labour costs.
- Exploiting weaker labour protections and rights in the destination country.
- Engaging in environmentally or socially harmful practices that would be illegal in the original country.
- Hindering progress towards a just transition, the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), or broader social and ecological objectives.
While offshoring may lower direct emissions in the home country, it can lead to carbon leakage, where emissions are transferred to another location rather than eliminated, potentially undermining global climate objectives.
