UK business leaders have called for Prime Minister Tony Blair to set tougher targets to tackle climate change, saying that “ambitious and urgent action is needed”. And other news shows there are financial benefits to going green.
On June 6 a group of top business leaders, including executives from Shell, Vodafone and John Lewis met with UK Prime Minister Tony Blair to voice their support for strong measures to tackle climate change.
At the top of their agenda was setting tougher targets for greenhouse gas emissions in the second phase of the EU emissions trading scheme. They want to strengthen and broaden the market for emissions reductions, creating more certainty and stability for businesses seeking to invest in energy-saving measures. They also support early investment in low carbon technologies, reduced business rates for energy efficient buildings, and improved energy efficiency in homes and public transport.
The group originally approached the prime minister in May 2005, seeking to address a ‘Catch 22’ situation in which governments refrain from introducing new policies to reduce emissions because they fear business resistance, while companies find it difficult to take their investments in low-carbon solutions to scale because of the lack of long-term climate policies.
“The group acknowledges that evidence now shows climate change is happening even faster than was once thought and that ambitious and urgent action is needed,” it said in a statement.
The Corporate Leaders Group on Climate Change is an initiative of the University of Cambridge Programme for Industry and the Prince of Wales Business and Environment Programme. Its members are:
ABN AMRO, Anglian Water, B&Q, BAA, BP, F&C Asset Management, John Lewis, Johnson Matthey, Reckitt Benckiser, Shell, Standard Chartered, Sun Microsystems, Tesco, Thames Water, Unilever and Vodafone. Contact Dr. Aled Jones, Cambridge Programme for Industry 01223 332 772 www.cpi.cam.ac.uk/bep/clgcc
Other news
Lloyd’s climate challenge
Lloyd’s of London published a report on June 5 – Climate Change, Adapt or Bust – urging the insurance industry to confront the threat of climate change and create policies to deal with the increased risk, or face financial ruin.
The report found that insurers need to update risk models to keep pace with the latest scientific evidence; take a forward-looking approach to underwriting rather than basing decisions on historical data; prepare for the impact of climate change on asset values; and partner actively with business and government to mitigate risk.
Meanwhile, AIG, the world’s largest insurer, became the first US-based insurance company to introduce a policy on May 16 aimed at managing the risks and opportunities posed by climate change.
The policy states that they are “focusing on the development of products and services to help AIG and its clients respond to the worldwide drive to cut greenhouse gas emissions”. Contact Louise Shield, Lloyds 020 7327 5793 www.lloyds.com; AIG 00 1 908 679 3150 www.aigcorporate.com
Profitable carbon
The World Resources Institute and Citigroup published a collaborative report Investing in Solutions on June 6. The report outlines the current state of carbon regulation in the US and highlights investment opportunities in companies that are commercialising low-carbon technologies.
The report reviewed four main carbon technologies that have the potential to be profitable, then identified 12 North American companies – including GE, Monsanto, Waste Management, and Caterpillar – with strong positions in these areas. It also provided an overview of the carbon-related regulatory trends that could impact these companies, noting that, contrary to popular opinion, there is a great deal of US legislative activity on climate change.
Fred Wellington, senior financial analyst with WRI’s capital markets research team, said: “I don’t think it’s about SRI; it’s about an environmental issue, climate change, that is financially material to a number of sectors covered by City analysts – both in terms of risk, but also in terms of opportunities.” Contact Fred Wellington, WRI 00 1 202 729 7600 www.wri.org
Emissions accomplished
The first year results of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme were announced on May 15, with nearly all UK companies complying with the requirements to disclose carbon emissions and surrender an appropriate number of carbon credits. The scheme, which allows companies that emit more carbon than their allocation to buy extra allowances and those who emit less to sell them, is designed to create an incentive for industry to reduce emissions and improve energy efficiency. Contact Defra 020 7238 5337 www.defra.gov.uk
Green government
UK environment secretary David Miliband announced on June 12 that all Whitehall departments would be carbon neutral by 2012. He also set a target for reducing carbon emissions from government offices by a third (30%), reducing waste and water consumption by a quarter (25%) and recycling three-quarters (75%) of waste by 2020. This announcement came one day after the Sustainable Consumption Roundtable called for the government to “lead by example” and make the shift towards sustainable procurement practices (see story on p8). Contact Defra 08459 335 577 www.defra.gov.uk
Trees for change
Reckitt Benckiser has launched Trees for Change, a forestation project offsetting two years of greenhouse gas emissions from the company’s global manufacturing energy use. The project will see over two million trees planted over six square miles, in order to render carbon neutral the manufacture of all the products made in Reckitt’s factories around the world. Contact Edward Butt, Reckitt Benckiser 01753 217 800 www.reckittbenckiser.com
In brief Coca-Cola announced on May 6 the completion of its transition to HFC-free refrigeration insulation on 98% of its new sales and marketing equipment. They claim that this will result in 75% less direct greenhouse gas emissions as compared to traditional equipment. Contact Kari Bjorhus, Coca-Cola 00 1 404 676 2683 www.coca-cola.com
Ford Motor Company and TerraPass launched the Greener Miles programme on April 28, allowing Ford’s US-based customers to voluntarily offset their annual carbon emissions by supporting certified renewable energy projects. Ford is currently piloting another programme to offset emissions from the manufacture of its hybrid electric vehicles. Contact Ford www.ford.com; TerraPass 00 1 877 879 8026 www.terrapass.com
General Electric announced on May 17 that revenues from its environmentally friendly goods and services – grouped under the Ecomagination brand – rose from $6.2bn in 2004 to $10.1bn in 2005. The range, which includes everything from aircraft engines to wind-turbines to low-energy light bulbs, is expected to grow at a similar annual rate, reaching $20bn in sales by 2010. Contact General Electric www.ge.ecomagination.com BP pledges to spend $500m (£285m) over the next ten years setting up a lab to explore emerging knowledge from the field of bioscience and its applicability in creating cleaner fuels for transport, it announced on June 14. It has already initiated talks with universities in the US and the UK to find a host for the new Energy Biosciences Institute and hope to launch early research programmes by late 2007. Contact BP 020 7496 4358 www.bp.com
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