Climate Week 2019

It’s time for collective action

During Climate Week NYC 2019 which just wrapped up, the business world has announced new ways it intends to accelerate the fight against climate change. And one of theme is collective action.

From one event to the next, excitement was palpable as companies were announcing joining calls to action, coalitions, pledges to fight climate change collectively. These mouvements, whether corporate initiated, NGO-led or part of the UN international frameworks, will continue to shape the business world’s response to the climate crisis.

Has your company joined any of the following mouvements yet? 

Please note that the list below is non-exhaustive and will continuously be updated.

Uniting behind the science:

SBTi – Science Based Targets Initiatives (since 2015)

The SBT initiative calls business leaders to set ambitious goals to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions in line with what the latest climate science says is necessary to remain under 2 degrees celsius. Launched in 2015 by the CDP, the United Nations Global Compact, World Resources Institute, WWF and We Mean Business, the initiative is hoping to boost corporate innovation and accelerate the transition to a low-carbon economy. Over 600 companies worldwide have joined the initiative.

Learn more about SBTi

You can’t manage what you can’t measure:

TCFD: Task Force on Climate Related Financial Disclosures (Since 2015)

Launched in 2015 by the Financial Stability Board (FSB) and chaired by Michael Bloomberg, TCFD develops tools and guidelines to help voluntary climate-related financial disclosures and increase transparency. Better access to data will change how investors, insurers, lenders evaluate risks and change ‘business as usual’, in an economy increasingly impacted by climate change. As of September 2019, over 800 organizations have supported the task force.

Learn more about TCFD

Business as a force for good:

B Corp (Since 2012)

B Corp is to business what fair trade is to coffee. Certified B Corporations are business that meet the highest standards of social and environmental performance, transparency and accountability to balance profit and purpose. B Corps are accelerating a global culture shift to redefine success in an more inclusive and sustainable economy. As of June 2019, over 2,750 companies across 64 countries were B-Corp certified.

Learn more about B Corp

B Impact assessment & SDGs (Coming up in 2020)

B Lab, the third party behind the certification announced a partnership with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals’ (SDGs) to allow companies around the globe to leverage the B Impact Assessment to allow them to manage their impact through performance on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Learn more about the UN SDG’s partnership with B Lab

Turning Circular to build the next economy

CE100 (Since 2013)

Founded by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, CE100 members are empowered to fight our linear ‘take, make, dispose model’. The CE100 network provides a pre-competitive space to learn, share knowledge, and build new collaborative approaches to accelerate the transition to a circular economy.

Learn more about CE100

Leading the shift to renewable power

RE100 (Since 2014)

RE100 is a global corporate leadership initiative bringing together businesses committed to 100% renewable electricity. Led by The Climate Group in partnership with CDP, RE100’s purpose is to accelerate change towards zero carbon grids, at global scale. Since it’s launch at Climate Week NYC 2014, 206 companies such as Ikea, Apple, Bank of America, Facebook, H&M, have joined the initiative.

Learn more about RE100

Corporate-led initiatives

Power to the grassroots activists

1% For The Planet (Since 2012)

One Percent for the Planet was founded by Patagonia founder, Yvon Chouinard, and Craig Mathews, founder of Blue Ribbon Flies, to encourage more companies to donate to the environmental cause. Members donate at least 1% of sales to grassroots environmental groups defending land, water, food, wildlife, climate, pollution issues. Over 1,800 business members worldwide have joined the mouvement.

Learn more about 1% For The Planet

Saving supply chains by fighting for ecosystems

One Planet Business for Biodiversity  (Announced during Climate week 2019)

Launched by Danone in partnership with WBCSD during the UN Climate Summit 2019, the coalition will strive to protect and restore biodiversity within supply chains, recognizing that the agricultural industry’s focus on productivity led to critical degradation of ecosystems. 19 leading companies have joined the coalition so far, among them Nestlé, Unilever, Google, L’Oréal.

Learn more the announcement

All in, 10 years ahead of the Paris Agreement

Amazon’s Climate Pledge (Announced during Climate week 2019)

During the UN Climate Summit  2019, Amazon announced that they co-founded, in partnership with Global Optimism, The Climate Pledge and launched a website to report on sustainability progress. The Climate Pledge calls on signatories to be net zero carbon across their businesses by 2040—a decade ahead of the Paris Accord’s goal of 2050.

Learn more about sustainability at Amazon

Lear more about the Climate Pledge