Dive Brief:
- A new carbon initiative focused on setting science-based targets for businesses around the globe has signed on 114 companies and approved goals for 10, including NRG Energy, the National Grid and Enel, Platts reports.
- The companies who have signed on to the pledge have combined annual emissions of at least 476 million tons of carbon dioxide, or roughly the emissions of 125 coal-fired power plants, according to the joint effort, which includes the UN Global Compact.
- NRG Energy committed to a 50% reduction of absolute emissions by 2030, relative to 2014 levels, and a long term target of a 90% absolute emissions by 2050.
Dive Insight:
Another climate announcement to come out of the Paris talks, this one focused on what corporations can do to reduce carbon emissions.
The Science Based Targets initiative – a joint effort of CDP, the World Resources Institute, WWF and the UN Global Compact – has approved targets for 10 companies already, and more than 100 more have committed to setting new emissions reductions targets. The initiative was hoping to sign up 100 companies by the end of the year, but it has already exceeded that goal.
Companies that have already had their targets approved include: Coca-Cola Enterprises, Dell, Enel, General Mills, Kellogg, NRG Energy, Procter & Gamble, Sony, and Thalys. The corporations represent a wide range of industries. Combined, they have committed to reducing emissions from operations by 799 million tons of CO2 over the lifetime of the targets, as well as further promising to reduce indirect emissions throughout their value chains.
Italy's Enel, the world's largest power company by number of customers, committed to reaching carbon neutrality by 2050.
“As a global energy company, Enel is ready to challenge business-as-usual habits and take the lead on transforming the energy infrastructure," Francesco Starace, CEO and general manager of Enel, said in a statement. "We are committed to reach carbon neutrality by 2050. This is consistent with the level of de-carbonization required to limit global warming to 2 degrees.”
According to the initiative, the 114 companies that have agreed to set science-based targets represent at least $932 billion in total combined profits. Almost a quarter of the companies who have signed up are from the U.S., with the UK, France and Canada being the next most common locations.