The Climate Pledge is a commitment co-founded by Amazon and Global Optimism to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement 10 years early and achieve net-zero carbon by 2040
SEATTLE-Thursday 22 April 2021 [ AETOS Wire ]
(BUSINESS WIRE) -- Today, Amazon and Global Optimism announced that more than 100 companies have now signed The Climate Pledge. Among the 52 new signatories joining The Climate Pledge today are well-known brands including Alaska Airlines, Colgate-Palmolive, HEINEKEN, PepsiCo, Telefónica, and Visa. Pledge signatories in total generate more than $1.4 trillion in global annual sales and have more than 5 million employees across 25 industries in 16 countries—demonstrating the collective impact The Climate Pledge can have in addressing climate change.
Signatories to The Climate Pledge agree to:
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Measure and report greenhouse gas emissions on a regular basis.
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Implement decarbonization strategies in line with the Paris Agreement through real business changes and innovations, including efficiency improvements, renewable energy, materials reductions, and other carbon emission elimination strategies.
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Neutralize any remaining emissions with additional, quantifiable, real, permanent, and socially beneficial offsets to achieve net-zero annual carbon emissions by 2040—a decade ahead of the Paris Agreement’s goal of 2050.
All signatories are taking science-based, high-impact actions to tackle climate change by innovating in supply chain efficiency, sustainable transportation, circular economy, clean energy solutions, and more. Many organizations are also meaningfully involving customers in their journey to net-zero with initiatives focused on innovative packaging and sustainable product design and development, while delivering solutions to empower customers to reduce their own emissions with educational campaigns and sustainable shopping experiences.
“Less than two years ago, Amazon co-founded The Climate Pledge and called on other companies to reach the Paris Agreement 10 years early—today, more than 100 companies with over $1.4 trillion in global annual revenues and more than 5 million employees have signed the pledge,” said Jeff Bezos, Amazon founder and CEO. “We are proud to stand with other signatories to use our scale to decarbonize the economy through real business change and innovation.”
“We helped to initiate The Climate Pledge to prove a model that accelerates decarbonization with the most ambitious companies,” said Christiana Figueres, the UN’s former climate chief and now founding partner of Global Optimism. “Today over 100 companies, including household brands and companies from all industry sectors, have joined The Climate Pledge with its goal of net-zero by 2040. They are demonstrating that moving faster toward decarbonizing their businesses is a pathway to competitive advantage. There is no doubt we’re at a tipping point to establish the low carbon economy envisioned in the Paris Agreement. I commend the leadership of the companies that have joined The Climate Pledge already and look forward to welcoming the next 100.”
Amazon and Global Optimism welcome the new signatories that have committed to The Climate Pledge.
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AECOM |
Mace Group |
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Alaska Airlines |
Morgan Sindall Group |
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Airmee |
Natural Capital Partners |
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Atlantia |
Optimus Ride |
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Bellrock Group |
PepsiCo |
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Blacklane |
Pollination |
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Colgate-Palmolive |
Portland General Electric |
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Convoy |
Posti |
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Delphis Eco |
Pregis |
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Direct Healthcare Solutions Ltd. |
Protector Cellars |
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Edmonton International Airport |
Quorn Foods |
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Elisa Corporation |
Rail Delivery Group |
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EV Private Equity |
Royal Philips |
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FILA Solutions |
Russell Group |
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Graebel |
Sainsbury’s |
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Greencore Group |
SecuriGroup |
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HEINEKEN |
Sonnedix |
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HH Global |
Springer Nature Group |
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IGS Energy |
Storegga Geotechnologies |
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IMI |
STV Group |
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Inn at Laurel Point |
Telefónica |
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Karma Automotive |
Teleperformance |
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LeasePlan |
The Sustainable City |
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LifeStraw |
Urenco |
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Lil Packaging Ltd. |
UST |
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Lime |
Visa |
Information about all 52 new signatories that have committed to The Climate Pledge is available at the About Amazon blog, with new signatories including:
Alaska Airlines
Alaska Airlines serves more than 120 destinations across the United
States, Mexico, Canada and Costa Rica, and reaches destinations around
the globe through the Oneworld Alliance. The company has a longstanding
commitment to care for people and the environment, and is setting out on
a bold path to reduce climate impact near and long term to reach
net-zero emissions by 2040. This includes continued improvements in
efficiency of its fleet; standardizing and expanding the use of
first-of-its-kind artificial intelligence and machine learning
technology to plan optimized routes, reduce fuel burn, and carbon
emissions; working with government and industry to expand the
availability and use of sustainable aviation fuels, which have up to 80%
less carbon emissions on a lifecycle basis; exploring and advancing
novel propulsion approaches that support electrification technologies
for regional flying; and investing in credible carbon offsets to close
any gaps to target. The company is already reducing emissions through
fleet optimization, saving fuel with its aircrafts’ uniquely designed
winglets, and navigation technology that sources the most efficient
route. Through its broader social and environmental sustainability
program, LIFT, Alaska Airlines invites customers to donate their miles
to support nonprofits such as the Nature Conservancy and UNCF, to
purchase carbon offsets with The Good Traveler, and to reduce waste
through in-flight recycling (temporarily paused due to the COVID-19
pandemic), and traveling with reusable water bottles through the
company’s #FillBeforeYouFly initiative.
“At Alaska Airlines, we know that travel can make a big difference in people’s lives, and we’re committed to operating in a socially and environmentally responsible way,” said Ben Minicucci, Alaska Airlines CEO. “We’re on a journey to ensure that sustainability is a core part of our culture, and we are grateful for partners within the aviation industry and beyond who are working with us to make the path to net-zero a reality. It will truly take a village to get there and joining the other sustainability-minded companies as part of The Climate Pledge is an important step.”
Colgate-Palmolive
Around the world, Colgate-Palmolive is reimagining a healthier future
for all people, their pets, and our planet. The company is committed to
preserving the environment by accelerating action on climate change. One
critical priority is achieving renewable energy across all operations
by 2030 through solar installations and power purchase agreements. With
household brands including Colgate, Palmolive, Tom’s of Maine, Hill’s,
and more, Colgate-Palmolive serves billions of people across the globe.
The company is committed to growth and to operating responsibly and
sustainably for the people, customers, and the communities it serves. It
continually looks for better and more sustainable ways to make its
products and packaging, and seeks opportunities to use less plastic,
water, and energy while minimizing waste. In 2019, Colgate introduced a
first-of-its-kind recyclable toothpaste tube, with the goal of
transitioning its global portfolio by 2025. Colgate is now sharing its
technology with third parties, including competitors, to support
transformation of all tubes. The company is also leading the charge on
promoting water conservation through its Save Water initiative, which
encourages customers to "turn off the tap" while brushing, helping
people save 155 billion gallons of water and 8.3 million metric tons of
greenhouse gas since 2016.
“Colgate is proud to join The Climate Pledge, understanding that accountability, partnership, and collaboration are essential to producing the sustainable environmental improvements we all want," said Prabha Parameswaran, Colgate-Palmolive, Global President. "With the Colgate brand found in more homes than any other, we’ve embraced our extraordinary opportunity—and responsibility—to reduce our environmental footprint and accelerate action on climate change. We are proud of the progress we’ve made and committed to doing more as our company works hard to reimagine a healthier future for all people, their pets, and our planet.”
HEINEKEN
Serving consumers across the globe, HEINEKEN recognizes the importance
of running not only a profitable business, but also a sustainable one.
The company’s decade long sustainable development ambition, Brew a
Better World, demonstrates its commitment to the UN Sustainable
Development Goals, building a roadmap against these goals and their
specified targets to ensure meaningful and transparent contributions to
protecting the planet, ensuring prosperity, and ending poverty. As a
part of this ambition, HEINEKEN has already achieved a 51% decrease in
carbon emissions and a 33% decrease in water consumption across its
operations since 2008. The company’s sustainability efforts span the
entire value chain “from Barley to Bar” by supporting sustainable
agriculture, brewing, packaging, and distribution, and advocating for
responsible consumption of alcohol.
“For over 150 years, we’ve been passionate about making a positive impact on the world around us. We know that we can only thrive if our people, the planet, and the communities around us thrive,” said Dolf van den Brink, HEINEKEN chairman and CEO. “This means looking at Brew a Better World in every one of our activities. We know actions speak louder than words and that achieving real and lasting change is only possible through collective effort. We must think and act holistically when considering how Brew a Better World positively impacts the entire HEINEKEN ecosystem— including our employees, partners and suppliers, NGOs, governments, local communities, and other stakeholders. By joining The Climate Pledge, we are reinforcing our commitment to sustainability, and are pleased to join a community that will share knowledge, ideas, and best practices.”
PepsiCo
With a portfolio of iconic brands—including Quaker, Walkers, Gatorade,
Doritos, and SodaStream—and a wide range of food and beverage products
that are enjoyed by customers across the world, PepsiCo is committed to
using its scale, reach, and expertise to help build a more sustainable
food system. PepsiCo envisions a food system that can provide nutrition
and enjoyment, and continue to drive economic and social development,
all without exceeding the natural boundaries of the planet. The company
is focused on promoting sustainable agriculture, addressing water
insecurity, eliminating plastic waste, developing more nutritious and
sustainable products, and reducing GHG emissions across its value chain.
As part of this effort, PepsiCo is working to build a world where
packaging doesn’t become waste. Currently, 88% of the company’s
packaging is recyclable, compostable, or biodegradable, with a goal to
reach 100% by 2025. PepsiCo also continues to expand its Sustainable
from the Start program, an initiative that considers environmental
impact at each stage of product development. In January 2021, PepsiCo
announced a new science-based goal to cut its carbon emissions by more
than 40% by 2030 (against a 2015 baseline)—more than doubling its
previous climate commitment, and aiming to achieve net-zero emissions by
2040.
“PepsiCo is delighted to join The Climate Pledge as we continue our work to help build a more sustainable and regenerative food system,” said Ramon Laguarta, PepsiCo chairman and CEO. “At a time when the world is struggling to recover from the shock of a global pandemic, shared solutions to shared challenges are essential. We all must do our parts individually, but also come together to tackle climate change and reach net-zero emissions by 2040.”
Telefónica
As one of the largest telephone operators and mobile network providers
in the world, Telefónica is committed to reducing its own carbon
footprint, as well as delivering solutions to empower customers to
reduce their own emissions. Telefónica is already committed to reducing
the emissions of its entire value chain in line with the 1.5 degrees
Celsius scenario. This includes a commitment to having net-zero
emissions by 2025 across its operations in key markets (Spain, UK,
Germany, and Brazil), with operations in Latin America and its broader
value chain net-zero by 2040. The company is also committed to helping
its customers reduce emissions through connectivity and its Eco Smart
services, a product seal that helps shoppers easily incorporate
sustainability criteria into their purchasing decisions. Last year, Eco
Smart helped customers avoid more than 9.5 million tons of CO2, the
carbon equivalent to planting 158 million trees.
“Our energy and climate change strategy centers on mitigating our impact, leveraging new opportunities, and evolving to address climate risks,” said Elena Valderrábano, Telefónica global director for corporate ethics and sustainability. “By joining The Climate Pledge, we are reinforcing our commitment to sustainability, and we’re pleased to join a community of other leading companies putting sustainability first.”
Visa
As a leading global payments technology company, Visa is committed to
contributing to a more sustainable and inclusive world, including
playing an industry leadership role in the global transition to a
low-carbon economy. Visa’s sustainability track record includes
achieving its goal in 2020 to fully transition to 100% renewable
electricity, improving the sustainability of our offices and data
centers through energy and water efficiency, landfill waste diversions,
and a global Green Teams program for employees. In 2020, Visa issued a
$500 million green bond, believed to be the first of its kind by a
digital payments network, in support of these efforts. Visa also
continues to inspire and empower sustainable commerce with strategic
partnerships and programs focused on embedding sustainability in payment
cards and accounts, and enabling sustainable behaviors through its work
in transit, electric vehicle charging, travel, and tourism.
“At Visa, we’re committed to sustainability and to creating a more sustainable future,” said Alfred F. Kelly Jr., Visa chairman and CEO. “We’re proud to join The Climate Pledge as part of our pledge to net-zero emissions by 2040, and we look forward to collaborating with signatories to advance this important work.”
About The Climate Pledge
In 2019, Amazon and Global Optimism co-founded The Climate Pledge, a
commitment to reach the Paris Agreement 10 years early and be net-zero
carbon by 2040. Now 105 organizations have signed The Climate Pledge,
sending an important signal that there will be rapid growth in demand
for products and services that help reduce carbon emissions. For more
information, visit www.theclimatepledge.com.
About Amazon
Amazon is guided by four principles: customer obsession rather than
competitor focus, passion for invention, commitment to operational
excellence, and long-term thinking. Customer reviews, 1-Click shopping,
personalized recommendations, Prime, Fulfillment by Amazon, AWS, Kindle
Direct Publishing, Kindle, Fire tablets, Fire TV, Amazon Echo, and Alexa
are some of the products and services pioneered by Amazon. For more
information, visit www.amazon.com/about.
About Global Optimism
Global Optimism exists to precipitate transformational, sector-wide
change. Achieving a zero emissions future is not a far-off challenge.
It’s one we must get on track for now. Every scientific assessment shows
that to meet the goal of net-zero emissions by 2050, to keep global
heating below 1.5 degrees Celsius, we must halve our emissions between
2020 and 2030. Tackling the climate crisis is only possible when
everyone, everywhere plays their part. We work with like-minded
collectives from all sectors who are willing to invest in the choices
required to be on this challenging—and life-affirming—journey. For more
information, visit https://globaloptimism.com/.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210421005391/en/
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