Optimism is about acknowledging difficulties —
and losses — yet still designing a better future.
- Christiana Figueres, former Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC
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Welcome to the January edition of the We Mean Business coalition newsletter, this month guest edited by the coalition's Policy Director Jen Austin:
 The decade of delivery kicked off this month with climate taking centre stage at the World Economic Forum in Davos. Several high-profile companies raised their climate ambition, with Danish power firm Ørsted committing to be carbon neutral by 2025, US tech giant Microsoft pledging to be carbon positive by 2030 and UK supermarket Sainsbury's committing to be carbon neutral by 2040.
This was mirrored by a bold shift in the investment landscape, including a €1tn investment plan from the EU to become a carbon neutral continent by 2050. While private sector investors including Blackrock and State Street signalled a firmer stance on aligning with the realities of climate change.
In the transport system, a host of major US companies have joined a new alliance, led by Ceres, to accelerate the transition to EVs. The Corporate Electric Vehicle Alliance, which includes Amazon, AT&T, Consumers Energy, DHL, IKEA North America, LeasePlan and Siemens, is actively helping to expand the EV market by pushing for an improved policy landscape.
In the power system, Bloomberg data shows that even under the Trump administration, US renewable investment hit a record in 2019. But globally investment in renewables only increased 1% year on year, highlighting the need for bold policy support. While the number of companies committed to RE100, led by The Climate Group in partnership with CDP, has now surpassed 220, underlining the growing corporate demand for renewables.
Meanwhile, former We Mean Business coalition CEO Nigel Topping has been appointed by the UK government as ‘high level climate action champion' ahead of COP26. Nigel will “help drive action from businesses, investors, organisations, cities, and regions on climate change and coordinate this work with governments and parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change”. Outgoing Bank of England governor Mark Carney has also joined the COP team in the role of finance advisor.
More than 170 companies acting to address climate risks were recognised as leaders on the CDP A List, including BT Group, Danone, Landsec and Ørsted. While the World Business Council For Sustainable Development and 26 companies have launched the Circular Transition Indicators, a transparent and objective circularity framework and tool.
Read more in Jen’s blog on corporate leadership in the Decade of Delivery here >
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From the We Mean Business blog
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We find ourselves at the beginning of a critical decade. One in which the impacts of climate change are increasingly evident, but many key solution areas are reaching tipping points, writes We Mean Business coalition Policy Director Jen Austin.
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UK telecoms giant BT is making strong progress on its decarbonization strategy through a mixture of renewable electricity, electric mobility and low-carbon heating, and was among the first to be aligned with the goal of limiting global warming to a maximum of 1.5ºC.
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New Report: A net-zero economy requires radical collaboration
The Net-Zero Economy Report 2020 from The B Team highlights the need for radical collaboration in corporate climate action and demonstrates how some companies have already stepped up to the challenge.
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Major companies join new alliance to accelerate transition to EVs
Amazon, AT&T, Consumers Energy, DHL, Direct Energy, IKEA North America, LeasePlan, Lime, and Siemens lead push for expanded electric vehicle market and improved policy landscape through the Corporate Electric Vehicle Alliance, led by Ceres.
Danone, Microsoft and Sony named among global leaders on climate action
This year's CDP A List recognizes more than 170 companies as the leaders acting to address climate risks and build our future zero-carbon economy - one that works for both people and planet, including BT, Danone, Microsoft and Sony.
Davos 2020: A perspective on progress, problems and promise
At Davos it was clear we are near tipping points on many key global issues, especially on climate, and being there provided a view into the progress, problems and promise on the path towards an inclusive economy, writes Halla Tómasdóttir, CEO of The B Team.
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BlackRock sends huge warning shot at cos ignoring climate risk
In a move that will resound across the world of energy investing, BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, warned of a “fundamental reshaping of finance” as the impacts of climate change become better understood, GreenTechMedia reports.
EU unveils plan to invest €1 trillion to fight climate change
The European Commission unveiled a €1 trillion investment plan to fight climate change on Tuesday, laying out a roadmap which would put the EU on the path to becoming the first carbon-neutral continent by 2050, reports The Independent.
Microsoft pledges to be ‘carbon negative’ by 2030
Microsoft has said it will become “carbon negative” by 2030 and offset all the carbon emissions it has made since it was founded. The $1.2tn software company also said it would launch a $1bn innovation fund to tackle the climate crisis, the FT reports.
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It’s time to extinguish the fossil fuel flame once & for all. The transition to a zero-carbon energy system has begun, but must accelerate to limit warming to 1.5ºC. Here's how companies and policymakers can act now to build a Better Future Faster.
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Many of the technical solutions needed to combat climate change are already available, "but the reality is we're waiting for policy makers to stand behind us or in front of us and enable those solutions to actually get together faster," said Roland Dubois, Head of Sustainability at ABB.
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It’s fantastic to see @sainsburys committing to hitting #netzero by 2040. It’s vital that big organisations recognise the responsibility they have in curbing emissions.
#COP26 #ClimateChange #ClimateAction
India has ranked 5th among the countries surveyed for corporate commitments to #ScienceBasedTargets, ahead of Germany and Sweden, according to @CDP. Find out which countries are taking the lead on reducing carbon: http://ow.ly/2yRe50y70CA
After last week’s #wef20, the question now is: what’s next for this year? For me it’s clear: getting #sustainability done! I gave it some forethought in the context of Davos, @wbcsd’s 25th anniversary #WBCSD25, the #capitalism debate & our #vision2050: https://wbcsd.org/ipalpdf
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CDP North America's A List Celebration:
3 February, 2020 | Paradise Valley, AZ
GreenBiz 20:
4-6 February, 2020 | Phoenix
Investing for Impact 2020:
13 February, 2020 | New York
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We Mean Business is a global coalition of nonprofit organizations working with thousands of the world’s most influential businesses to accelerate the transition to a low-carbon economy.
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We Mean Business wants to hear from you:
info@wemeanbusinesscoalition.org
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