After the disappointing progress of governments in Doha to take action against climate change, businesses are leading the way in adopting clean energy, according to a new report.
The report, Power Forward: Why the World’s Largest Companies are Investing in Renewable Energy, from Calvert Investments, Ceres and WWF reveals that a majority of Fortune 100 companies are setting their own goals on renewables, greenhouse gas emission reductions or both.
Interviews carried out with executives from Fortune and Global 100 companies, as well as analysis of public disclosures, reveals that 96 out of 173 companies (56%) have set emission reduction goals, with 23 of those also have renewable energy targets.
Companies are shifting away from short-term energy purchasing to longer-term strategies like power purchase agreements and on-site renewable energy projects.
“The world’s largest companies are expanding their use of renewable energy ecause it makes good business sense – they see the value in diversifying their energy supply, mitigating fuel cost risk, cutting their energy-related emissions, and, in some cases, providing a physical asset with real value,” says Bennett Freeman, senior vice president for sustainability research and policy at Calvert.
But despite the progress, many companies are yet to set any goals at all citing that renewable energy is still more expensive than fossil fuels and inconsistent policies.
The report urges all companies to set targets and disclose their commitments, which Calvert, Ceres and WWF say will help businesses.
“It speaks volumes that almost all of these companies set their renewable energy and greenhouse gas goals after the economic downturn, precisely because they understand the economic benefits of efficiency and renewable energy,” says Mindy Lubber, president of Ceres.
For further information:
www.calvert.com/sri.html
www.worldwildlife.org
www.ceres.org
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WindMade initiative breezes ahead thanks to consumer demand (5-Dec)
IKEA unpacks plans to generate 100% renewable electricity (24-Oct)
Walmart makes progress on environmental goals (16-Oct)
Market uncertainty leads to clean energy investment slump (10-Oct)
Article source: http://www.energyefficiencynews.com/i/5623/
