In the conversations I have about climate change, one question comes up more than any other: “How can I help?”

Sometimes it’s an individual who simply wants to know whether to stop buying plastic straws. (Answer: it doesn’t do much for climate change, but it does help the environment in other ways.) Just as often, though, the question comes from someone working on a larger scale — for example, a chief executive who wants to know: “What can my company do that will really make a difference?”

Unfortunately, even the most dedicated climate change advocates have struggled to find satisfying answers to that question. But there are in fact things businesses can do to make a measurable difference for the climate. They will not come easily, though. Avoiding a climate disaster requires a different way of doing business, the courage to take on risks that many CEOs are not used to taking — and that investors are not used to rewarding.