Five leading U.S. corporations launched an initiative this week calling for strong U.S. climate and energy legislation in early 2009
The founding members of Business for Innovative Climate and Energy Policy (BICEP) are Levi Strauss & Co., Nike, Starbucks, Sun Microsystems and The Timberland Company.
These companies are joined by Ceres–a coalition of investors, environmental groups and other public interest groups.
"These companies have a clear message for next year’s Congress: move quickly on climate change to kick-start a transition to a prosperous clean energy economy fueled by green jobs," said Mindy S. Lubber, president of Ceres, which helped organize BICEP.
The group’s key principles include stimulating renewable energy, promoting energy efficiency and green jobs, requiring 100% auction of carbon allowances, and limiting new coal-fired power plants to those that capture and store carbon emissions.
"Climate change is a threat to any business that relies on an agricultural product like we do with coffee," said Ben Packard, Starbucks vice president, global responsibility. "Starbucks believes that addressing climate change will help companies like ours reduce operating costs and mitigate future economic instability due to extreme weather conditions and agricultural loss."
The coalition’s goal is to work directly with key allies in the business community and members of Congress to pass meaningful energy and climate change legislation consistent with the following eight core principles:
- Set greenhouse gas reduction targets to at least 25% below 1990 levels by 2020 and 80% below 1990 levels by 2050.
- Establish an economy-wide GHG cap-and-trade system that auctions 100% of carbon pollution allowances, promotes energy efficiency and accelerates clean energy technologies.
- Establish aggressive energy efficiency policies to achieve at least a doubling of our historic rate of energy efficiency improvement.
- Encourage transportation for a clean energy economy by promoting fuel-efficient vehicles, plug-in electric hybrids, low-carbon fuels, and transit-oriented development.
- Increase investment in energy efficiency, renewables and carbon capture and storage technologies while eliminating subsidies for fossil-fuel industries.
- Stimulate job growth through investment in climate-based solutions, especially "green-collar" jobs in low-income communities and others vulnerable to climate change’s economic impact.
- Adopt a national renewable portfolio standard requiring 20% of electricity to be generated from renewable energy sources by 2020, and 30% by 2030.
- Limit construction of new coal-fired power plants to those that capture and store carbon emissions, create incentives for carbon capture technology on new and existing plants, and phase out existing coal-based power plants that do not capture and store carbon by 2030.
"Nike understands the value of investing in innovative solutions to address the challenges of sustainability, so we are proud to be part of a coalition of companies that believes legislative action on climate change and clean energy is not only urgent but imperative to creating positive, long-term change," added Sarah Severn, Director of Horizons, corporate responsibility at Nike.
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