36 major corporations have committed to running on 100% renewable electricity, joining The Climate Group’s RE100.
Launched a year ago, the first to sign on were: BT Group; Formula E; H&M; IKEA Group; KPN; J. Safra Sarasin; Nestlé; Philips; RELX Group; Swiss Re; Unilever and YOOX Group. Mars, Inc. was the only US company to join.
Since then, many more have signed on:
Alstria; Autodesk; Commerzbank; DSM; Elion Resources Group (the first from China); Givaudan; Goldman Sachs; Infosys (the first company from India); Kingspan; Johnson & Johnson; Marks & Spencer; Nike; Procter & Gamble; Proximus; Royal DSM; Salesforce; SAP; SGS; Starbucks; Steelcase; UBS; Vaisala; Voya Financial and Walmart.
Target years vary substantially. Goldman Sachs, for example, plans to be using 100% renewable energy by 2020, while Johnson & Johnson’s date is 2050.
The list doesn’t include Google, Facebook and Apple, all of which have committed to 100% renewable energy.
The White House is also collecting commitments from corporations under its American Business Act on Climate pledge. They pledge to support a strong agreement at the Paris Climate Summit in December and confirmed their own efforts to reduce their carbon footprints.
The goal is not only to change corporate behavior, but to show the world that leading companies are committed to the shift to clean energy.
The private sector consumes over half the world’s electricity, and "by massively increasing business demand for renewable power as a proportion of the energy it uses, RE100 will accelerate the transformation of the global energy market, enabling the transition to a prosperous low-carbon future," says The Climate Group.
"Research shows that the most ambitious companies have seen a 27% return on their low carbon investments – no wonder new names keep joining RE100. Lowering risk, protecting against price rises, saving millions and boosting brand is what shaping a low carbon economy is all about. Today these companies are signaling loud and clear to COP21 negotiators that forward-thinking businesses back renewables and want to see a strong climate deal in Paris," says Mark Kenber, CEO of The Climate Group.
RE100 is an initiative of We Mean Business – a coalition of organizations working with thousands of the world’s most influential businesses and investors to drive climate action. 150+ companies with $4 trillion in combined revenue and 100+ investors with over $8 trillion assets under management have joined the campaign. They recognize that transitioning to a low-carbon economy is the only way to secure sustainable economic growth and prosperity for all.
Read our article, US Businesses Knee-Deep in Getting Emissions Down.
Learn more about RE100:
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