Another 20 companies joined The Climate Pledge, a public commitment to “go green” launched by Amazon and Jeff Bezos in 2019. Including the new signatories announced Wednesday, there are 53 companies from 12 countries that have joined.
The most prominent company in the latter group is IMB. It announced on Tuesday its agenda to achieve “zero zero” greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. “Net zero” means that the greenhouse gases emitted are equivalent to those eliminated.
To achieve “net zero”, IBM will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 65% in 2025 compared to its 2010 emissions, will use 75% renewable energy in 2025 and 90% energy renewable by 2030 and will use carbon sequestration or other technologies to eliminate greenhouse gases equal to their “residual emissions,” says the computer giant.
IBM has revealed its carbon emissions since 1995 and in 2019 became a founding member of the Climate Leadership Council, an international policy institute advocating for a plan to charge a carbon tax and return revenue to citizens. as cash payments.
Joining The Climate Pledge will not diminish IBM’s profits: “Not at all,” says Wayne S. Balta, IBM’s director of sustainability.
“Overall, innovating to address climate change and other aspects of environmental sustainability represents a business opportunity that also helps the planet. Good for the economy, good for the environment. That’s the essence of sustainability. he says.
“We can use data and [artificial intelligence] and computer science to help in the fight against climate change. For example, IBM’s Research Division uses these technologies to accelerate the discovery of materials that could help remove carbon from the atmosphere, ”says Balta.
The other companies that sign The Climate Pledge announced Wednesday that they cover all kinds of industries and include logistics company Vanderlande; UPM, a forest industry company that offers renewable and recyclable alternatives to fossil-based materials and products; reusable beverage company MiiR; Johnson Controls, which sells equipment and programs to regulate the internal environment of buildings; Iceland Foods, a retailer focused on disposing of disposable plastics; and Daabon, which produces and processes organic crops.
Companies already committed to the deal include Microsoft, Unilever, JetBlue Airways, Uber, Rivian, Best Buy, Mercedes-Benz and Verizon.
Bezos and Amazon launched The Climate Pledge in September 2019 to get companies publicly committed to complying with the Paris Climate Agreement in 2040, 10 years before the official goal of the agreement for 2050. ( Bezos is currently the CEO of Amazon, but announced in early February that he would move to the executive chairman of the board later this year).
“We’ve just been in the middle of the herd of this issue; we’ve decided to use our size and scale to make a difference,” Bezos says in a statement on The Climate Pledge’s website. “If a company with as much physical infrastructure as Amazon – which delivers more than 10 billion items a year – can comply with the Paris Agreement ten years earlier, any company can do it.”
Bezos unveiled The Climate Pledge in the face of public criticism from employees calling on Amazon to reduce its carbon footprint (and the day before some employees had planned to leave as part of the global climate strike).
For a company, signing The Climate Pledge means agreeing to do three things:
- Measure greenhouse gas emissions and report them on a “regular” basis.
- “Decarbonize” operations through a combination of “efficiency improvements, renewable energy, material reduction and other carbon sequestration strategies.”
- Buy “additional, quantifiable, real, permanent, and socially beneficial offsets” for carbon emissions that a company cannot operationally eliminate by 2040.
“Meeting these goals is really just something that can be done in collaboration with other large companies, because we are all part of each other’s supply chains,” Bezos says. “So we have to work together and we want to use our scale and our reach to lead the way. We know it will be a challenge. But we know we can do it and we have to do it.”
The Climate Pledge was co-founded by Amazon and Global Optimism, which is a political and strategic advisory organization that aims to catalyze action to reduce global carbon emissions. Global Optimism was co-founded by former UN climate chief Christiana Figueres and former chief political strategist of the Paris Agreement, Tom Rivett-Carnac.
Broadly speaking, public statements of intent are helpful. “These voluntary promises help move companies in the right direction,” Michael Gerrard, an environmental lawyer and professor at Columbia Law School, tells CNBC Make It.
“Yes, business promises with specific actions and reports on which you can be held accountable are helpful in creating real change,” Tensie Whelan, a professor at the NYU Stern School of Business and director of the NYU Stern Center for Sustainable Business, tells CNBC Make It. “The elements of this promise, such as a broad net zero target for 2040, reporting, carbon sequestration and carbon offsets, are critical to the transformation we need.”
A company that subscribes to a promise like Amazon puts it under the microscope.
“While a simple commitment does not guarantee that they will do everything right from an environmental perspective, it means they have called for control and are therefore much more likely to work to move society towards a low-carbon future. “Dan Esty, a professor of environmental law and policy at Yale University, told CNBC Make It.
However, climate compromise is not a panacea either, Whelan says. “This promise is not tied to science-based goals related to keeping warming below 2 degrees and does not define how companies should determine their goals, which can lead to a weak goal setting,” Whelan said. and CNBC Make It. “Companies could choose to focus most of their efforts on carbon offsets, for example, compared to reducing their emissions.” (Note: “Amazon itself is committed to science-based goals,” says Whelan.)
To that end, Amazon says “carbon offsets” are just one component of the promise. “Nature-based compensations or solutions play a necessary, complementary and critical role along with the decarbonisation of business operations,” the company states. And while “setting a science-based goal is not a requirement for adherence,” The Climate Pledge encourages signatories to do so: “We believe that setting a science-based goal is good practice.”
Uniformity would also make the promise more meaningful. “They would have an even greater impact if they used uniform measurement and reporting methods, so we know we compare apples to apples when we see the results from different companies,” Gerrard says.
In fact, The Climate Pledge leaves the reporting format at the signatory’s discretion. “Signatories should report publicly, at a rate they determine, and follow best information practices to be accountable to their stakeholders,” says The Climate Pledge. In addition, the Pledge has partnered with CDP, a non-profit charity that manages the global outreach system for investors, businesses, cities, states and regions to manage their environmental impacts and help signatories establish contacts with CDP. .
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