Mar 29 2009
Some of the world’s leading companies and most recognizable brands gathered on Capitol Hill in Washington today to announce that cutting greenhouse emissions makes business sense.
The companies, all partners in WWF’s Climate Savers Program, announced an estimated 50 million tons of voluntary emissions reductions by 2010 since the program’s inception in 1999.
The independently estimated reductions are equivalent to the annual emissions of Switzerland.
Companies in the WWF Climate Savers Programme include The Coca-Cola Company, Catalyst, The Collins Companies, Elopak, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, Hewlett-Packard, Lafarge, Johnson & Johnson, JohnsonDiversey, Nike, Nokia, Nokia Siemens Networks, Novo Nordisk, Polaroid, Sagawa Express, Sofidel Group, Sony, Spitsbergen Travel, Tetra Pak, Xanterra Parks and Resorts.
Senior executives from a dozen of the companies will tell attendees of a Capitol Hill briefing hosted by the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee that climate protection and profitability can go hand-in-hand. While the businesses’ reductions are significant, the current climate emergency also demands the implementation of comprehensive climate policies at both national and international levels.
"These 21 Climate Savers companies have proven that greenhouse gas reductions and strong economic performance are not an either/or proposition,” said WWF-US President Carter Roberts.
“This is a critical moment to communicate this message to policymakers because voluntary action will not be enough to achieve the carbon dioxide reductions needed to protect the planet from the ravages of climate change. A global challenge like this calls for both domestic legislation and a strong international treaty.”
“Environmental protection and sustainable business performance are inextricably linked,” said Muhtar Kent, President and CEO of The Coca-Cola Company. “Governments, NGOs and businesses have unique roles, but we must work more closely together to address climate change. A key part of our role is to drive the Coca-Cola system to achieve and surpass the targets we have established in partnership with WWF and Climate Savers."
WWF works closely with Climate Savers companies to develop action plans to achieve aggressive emission reduction targets. Overall, the companies say these efforts are resulting in greater operational efficiency and significant cost reductions.
As Climate Savers marking its 10-year anniversary, some member companies, such as Lafarge, and Johnson & Johnson are currently surpassing their targets. WWF also announced that Fairmont Hotels & Resorts and Elopak would become the newest members, with both companies setting ambitious emissions targets:
- Fairmont Hotels & Resorts signed an agreement with WWF to cut its emissions by 20 percent below its 2006 levels by 2013.
- Elopak, a leading beverage packaging company with customers in 100 countries, will reduce CO2 emissions 15% from 2008 levels by 2011.
As an additional effort, WWF officials said it will organize a contingent of Climate Savers companies to attend upcoming international climate talks in Copenhagen in support of a treaty.
Many Climate Savers companies have previously offered public support for a declaration calling for action to limit the global average temperature increase to a maximum of 2 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels, and have affirmed an Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change report’s conclusion that global emissions must be reduced to half of 2000 levels by the middle of the 21st century.
The companies also declared that they would widen the scope of reduction activities by partnering with other businesses and champion best practice by sharing their methods with more sectors and in more regions around the world.