Copenhagen's failure should force firms to ask what they can do next

Six weeks on from the end of Copenhagen and everyone is still dusting themselves down and trying to figure out what the outcomes mean in terms of the impact on businesses, carbon markets and the environment as a whole.

To recap, no legally binding treaty was agreed but a high-level accord (the Copenhagen Accord) was struck, which set out a series of key commitments: that developed countries register their proposed mid-term (2020) emissions reductions targets with the UN; developing countries register the actions they propose to help mitigate climate change; industrialised nations provide $30bn (£18.5bn) in climate funding to the poorest nations over the next three years and agree to work out a way to provide significantly more in the future; and all countries agree to submit their actions to a system of international measurement, reporting and verification.

People are now hoping this agreement can provide a foundation for this year's negotiations and ensure a treaty is signed at the next Conference of Parties in Mexico. But beyond pinning our hopes on what comes out of the next meeting, where does that leave us now?

From a voluntary perspective, let's take the corporations currently outside of any carbon-related regulation. Copenhagen was a hotbed of businesses wanting to show support for the post-Kyoto process, to get information on how any agreement might affect their business, their clients, or their investment dollars. The Bali meeting two years before had corporate support – although some would say that was more down to the location than the importance of the event itself – but Copenhagen seemed to be different.

I found myself asking why people were queuing for eight hours to get into the conference hall. Was it because they wanted to be part of the moment, to feel history in the making? Maybe so, but it's unlikely budgets would stretch that far for pure hedonism. The crux was that businesses wanted to be involved and there were many organised briefings and lobbying efforts from the likes of Coca Cola, Barclays and Tesco, for example, under the guise of the Copenhagen Communiqué on Climate Change.

They were generally left on the sidelines, but this was an opportunity for those companies to show that this important issue has far-reaching effects on all sectors and companies, large and small.

So what now? There has to be some positive effect and momentum from Copenhagen despite the lack of agreement.

Rightly so, the media were out in force at Copenhagen and environmental reporters were having a field day. If this impetus continues, companies will feel continued exposure to the important issues of climate change and this may create some stimulus for them to make decisions to take action.

People always talk about the fact that participating in the voluntary carbon market is an opportunity to show leadership and take early action so if ever there was a need and a time to do that, this is it.

If governments cannot yet agree on the higher-level framework, that does not need to stop individuals and companies from taking steps to reduce their emissions in any way possible. Quite the opposite, in fact – the message should be that we're here and we're doing it – where are you?

From a voluntary perspective, there are ways and means to stimulate greater emission reductions. Self-imposed tough targets will not only require more effort to make internal cuts but will likely require external emission reductions.

The recession may have temporarily reduced emissions for some companies but there is no time for them to sit back. There is an opportunity to get a head start on making progress towards carbon reduction targets, but this can only be achieved through sticking to the plan and continuing to take action.

In addition, in terms of external emission reductions, only if the demand for offsets significantly grows in the next year will there be greater investment in voluntary carbon projects, which will result in even greater global emission reductions.

This combined effort needs to continue and companies need to keep banging the drum. It is time for businesses to stand up and be counted.

Lisa Ashford is global head of voluntary and new markets at carbon offsetting specialist EcoSecurities