The corporate world is stepping up again at COP21, with more companies committing to 100% renewable energy and setting "science-based climate targets."
53 companies have now joined RE100. If all companies reached 100% renewable energy, the demand would raise renewables to providing half the world’s electricity, and cut global emissions 15%, according to The Climate Group.
Some of the companies are BMW, Coca-Cola, Starbucks, Nike, Google, Microsoft and Adobe.
Meanwhile, investors launched their own initiative to coax more corporations into RE100. The 20 founding members include insurance firm Aviva Investors and pension funds in France, Norway and the UK.
"I think this will hugely accelerate the pace at which big corporates around the world commit to transitioning their businesses to using renewable energy for electricity. When shareholders – particularly when working collectively – get behind something that makes good business sense it really accelerates the pace at which businesses’ boards look seriously and move on something," Catherine Howarth, CEO of ShareAction, which is organizing the effort, told The Guardian.
Science-Based Climate Targets
And while most multinational companies have been working toward targets for years, they tend to set them based on what they think they can achieve – rather than what science requires to stay below 2°C.
114 companies signed on to the Science Based Targets Initiative at COP21.
"If you’re making the effort to reduce emissions, it’s worth making that little bit extra effort to avoid catastrophic climate change," notes Kevin Moss of the World Resources Institute (WRI), which is leading the effort.
WRI and its partners have taken on the job of evaluating company targets – it’s a complex process that will consider the lifecycle of corporate products, pushing down the supply chain. As companies submit targets, WRI will analyze them and 10 companies have been approved so far: Coca-Cola, Dell, Kellogg, General Mills, NRG Energy, Sony, Procter & Gamble, Enel and Thalys.
"It leads you towards developing a portfolio of products and services that will provide for a low carbon society. It might mean substituting a portfolio of products that relies on fossil fuels to one that doesn’t," says Moss.
We might finally get the truly sustainable products the environmental community has been asking for … for decades.
Read our article, Corporations Step Up For Climate, As Exxon is Exposed.
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