Global Companies Pledged to Ambitious Global Warming Targets -- Update
July 23 2019 - 8:03AM
Dow Jones News
By Dieter Holger
More than 20 major global firms with a combined market value of
$1.3 trillion have pledged to independently verified, ambitious
targets to limit global warming, the United Nations said
Tuesday.
The targets will help curb global temperature rise to 1.5
degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and reach net-zero
emissions by 2050. Companies will work to cut emissions across not
just their operations but in the goods they sell if these represent
40% or more of their total emissions.
"Climate leadership has never been more important than it is
right now, and it is inspiring to see so many diverse companies and
brands boldly raising their ambitions," said Lise Kingo, chief
executive and executive director of the UN Global Compact, an
initiative where businesses voluntarily commit to environmental and
human-rights principles.
The 28 corporations are part of a growing movement adopting
targets from the Science Based Targets Initiative, an organization
founded in 2015 that has worked with around 600 firms to map out
how they can slash their greenhouse gas emissions and fight global
climate change.
SBTI earlier this year revised its criteria to allow companies
to commit to helping limit global warming well below the scientific
consensus level of 2 degrees Celsius, said Alberto Carrillo Pineda,
director of science based targets at CDP, an environmental
disclosure platform that works with investors.
Companies pledged to the targets include Hewlett Packard
Enterprise Co. (HPE), Zurich Insurance Group AG (ZURN.EB), Vodafone
Group PLC (VOD.LN) and SAP SE (SAP.XE), SBTI said.
To meet the goals, German business software company SAP aims to
become carbon neutral by 2025 thanks in part to improved energy
efficiency at its data centers, said Daniel Schmid, chief
sustainability officer at SAP.
"We are committed to join the global movement of leading
companies and align our businesses with the most ambitious aim of
the Paris Agreement to prevent global warming exceeding 1.5 degrees
Celsius," Mr. Schmid said.
Consumer-goods giant Unilever NV (UNA.AE) said it set new
targets in 2015 due to mounting scientific evidence of climate
change. It is now focusing on lowering the environmental footprint
of its products, which contribute to 40% or more of its total
emissions.
"It is clear to us that no one company or country can tackle the
climate crisis alone," said Thomas Lingard, global climate and
environment director at Unilever.
Write to Dieter Holger at dieter.holger@dowjones.com;
@dieterholger
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
July 23, 2019 07:48 ET (11:48 GMT)
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