Even as the swift spread of the Delta variant in the U.S. and other countries around the world brings renewed urgency to the battle against COVID-19, another, arguably graver, crisis continues to unfold. Climate change and its ability to wreak havoc on the natural environment is rapidly intensifying, a development that promises a time of testing for mass market retailers, consumer products suppliers and other businesses.

The findings contained in a new study from the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) are sobering indeed. The 234 scientists from 66 nations who prepared the report concluded that, fueled by human activity, the warming of the earth’s atmosphere is resulting in adverse environmental changes not seen in thousands of years, and that some of them, including rising sea levels, may not be reversible for hundreds of thousands of years. They asserted that, in the absence of immediate aggressive measures, global warming will reach at least 1.5 degrees Celsius, or 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit, in coming decades — meeting or exceeding the limit agreed upon at the Paris climate summit in 2015.

That, in turn, will unleash more frequent instances of extreme weather events. One doesn’t have to look far to get a preview of what’s looming on the horizon. Climate change has been a significant contributor to drought and wildfires in the western U.S. as well as Italy, Greece and Turkey, and torrential flooding in central Europe and China.

As with previous IPCC reports, retailers and their business partners have access to a wealth of insights about the disturbing global trends, which, if left unchecked, will require them to rethink many elements of their strategic plan. Supply chain uncertainty, disruptions in transportation and communications networks, and damage to physical infrastructure are just some of the problems certain to result from the effects brought about by the warming of the atmosphere.

“Climate change is already affecting every region on earth, in multiple ways,” says Panmao Zhai, cochair of an IPCC working group. “The changes we experience will increase with additional warming. Stabilizing the climate will require strong, rapid and sustained reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, and reaching net zero CO2 emissions. Limiting other greenhouse gases and air pollutants, especially methane, could have benefits both for health and the climate.”

A growing number of leaders in the business community, including CVS Health, Walmart, Ahold Delhaize and Unilever, are heeding the call, directing their organizations to view the need to protect the environment as top priority — both for their companies and for society as a whole — and tackling the problem head on. The ambitious plan recently unveiled by Target is a case in point.

“As a company and a member of the global community, it’s imperative for the health of both our business and our planet that we embrace new ways to move forward,” said Target chairman and chief executive officer Brian Cornell. “We know sustainability is tied to business resiliency and growth, and that our size and scale can drive change that is good for all. Target Forward influences every corner of our business, deepens our collaboration with our partners and builds on our past efforts to ensure a better future for generations to come.”

The ambitious initiative (which also includes components related to racial equality, inclusivity and social justice) deepens and extends the discounter’s sustainability commitment. Goals include making Target the market leader for creating and curating sustainable brands and experiences by 2030; ensuring that, by 2040, 100% of the company’s private label products are designed for a circular economy; and, most important in the battle against climate change, by the later date becoming a net zero enterprise, with zero waste to landfills and net zero emissions across both operations and supply chain.

Target Forward exemplifies the seriousness with which retailers, CPG makers and other companies are now taking global warming and the harm it is inflicting on people and communities around the world. They deserve credit for taking a long-term view and using their ability to control or influence myriad factors in the marketplace to help reduce carbon emissions.

In addition to those laudable efforts, Target and its peers in the retail community should consider an additional step. With their established relationships and close contact with millions of consumers every day, they are ideally positioned to inform people about what’s at stake with climate change and help create the broad societal consensus needed to contain it.