In past year, Science Based Targets grew at rate of 2+ companies per week

Over 165 major companies now committed to set ambitious emission reduction targets

LONDON, UK – June 28 – The Science Based Targets initiative announced today that 168 companies have committed to set greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets that support the global effort to limit warming to 2°C. Of these, 17 companies now have targets in place that have been approved by the initiative’s experts, including four recent additions: AMD, Autodesk, UBM, and Host Hotels & Resorts, Inc.

Tim Mohin, Senior Director of Corporate Responsibility at Advanced Micro Devices, Inc (AMD), an American multinational semiconductor company with over 7,500 employees, says “AMD is proud to have science-based targets that span our value chain. By accelerating the energy efficiency of our microprocessors, working with key suppliers on ‘best-in-class’ manufacturing goals, and decreasing our own operating footprint, we are continuing to do our part to protect the climate.” From 2014 to 2020, AMD commits to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions from its operations by 20%, improve the compute performance per watt of energy consumed by their mobile APU processors by 25 times, and keep suppliers’ wafer manufacturing direct emissions 30% below the normalized semiconductor industry association average.

“Climate change is the greatest design challenge humankind has ever tackled and is therefore a core focus for both our business and our customers.” said Lynelle Cameron, Senior Director of Corporate Philanthropy & Sustainability at Autodesk and CEO of the Autodesk Foundation. Autodesk is an American multinational software company with $4.5 billion in assets (2014) that commits to reducing total scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions 43% by 2020 and an 85% absolute reduction by 2050 from a 2008 base-year, following its C-FACT methodology. Cameron explains, “We set a science-based emissions reduction target for ourselves nine years ago and have been sharing the C-FACT methodology with customers, industry, and governments ever since. We have the privilege and honor of working with over 200 million designers who are using our cloud-based technologies to create the post-COP21 built world. In addition to our own climate commitments, we are focused on equipping and supporting our customers to compete in a low carbon economy. This is our collective future and the only path forward.”

The Science Based Targets initiative revealed these new figures during the Business & Climate Summit in London on 28-29 June. The summit will bring together top international business leaders, policymakers and investors to discuss strategies for driving low-carbon economic growth following the landmark 2015 Paris Agreement. Speakers include Christiana Figueres in her last public appearance as chair of the UNFCCC, alongside representatives from climate-conscious companies such as Ikea, Unilever, Kellogg and Enel, which have all joined the Science Based Targets initiative.

Since the initiative launched its campaign at last year’s Business & Climate Summit in May 2015, companies have joined at a rate of more than two per week, signaling a strong appetite for third-party backed, scientifically meaningful corporate climate commitments.

Paul Simpson, CEO of CDP, who is chairing a session at the Business & Climate Summit said:

“These companies are at the forefront of the global transition to a low-carbon, climate resilient economy. They are showing that all types of companies – including carbon-intensive industries such as energy, chemicals and steel – can get on a low carbon path. Science-based targets help drive innovation, reduce costs, and enhance profitability. Companies that set them gain long-term competitive advantage and safeguard their future prosperity.”

Chris Hood, President Kellogg Company, EMEA said: “We announced these ambitious science-based climate commitments and extended them to our suppliers. Since we extended our targets to 2050 from our existing 2020 goals, we have engaged with 75% of our suppliers globally, to help them to understand the challenge ahead and help them to meet it. We would urge other businesses of our scale to do the same, to effect real change.” Kellogg Company’s emissions reduction target was approved by the Science Based Targets initiative in December 2015.

Science Based Targets is one of the five leading emissions reduction initiatives named in a new report called The Business End of Climate Change produced by We Mean Business in partnership with CDP with analysis from the New Climate Institute. The report details the huge contribution business can make in keeping global warming to below 2°C.

Published last week, five exclusive, in-depth interviews with sustainability professionals at Kellogg, Dell, Pfizer, Sony and PostNord reveal that innovation is spurred by ambitious targets, and that buy-in and active support at the most senior levels is key to success.

Sony has a long-term vision of reducing its environmental footprint to zero by 2050. Keiko Shiga from Sony’s Quality & Environment Department said, “Having a science-based target helps keep us on track. It means we know what we need to do in the short- and medium-term to meet the longer-term vision. And it also helps convince people internally that we are doing this in a logical manner.”

Science Based Targets is a joint initiative of CDP, the UN Global Compact, World Resources Institute (WRI) and World Wildlife Fund (WWF). The four organisations aim to establish science-based target setting as mainstream corporate practice. This year, CDP added science-based targets as a component of scoring for companies that disclose emissions each year.

/ Ends

Notes to editors:

For more quotes/interviews from companies who have set science-based targets including Kellogg, Sony, Dell, Pfizer and Postnord, contact us, or visit https://https://sciencebasedtargets.org/case-studies

Representatives of companies with science-based targets attending the Business & Climate Summit are:

• Chris Hood, Kellogg Company
• Marius Perrois, Corporate social responsibility officer, Thalys

CEOs of Science Based Targets partners attending the Business & Climate Summit

• Paul Simpson, CEO of founding partner CDP (who is chairing the session “How can business action bend the curve below two degrees”)

• Andrew Steer, CEO of founding partner WRI

CEO of the We Mean Business Coalition – of which Science Based Targets is a member – attending the summit:

• Nigel Topping, CEO of We Mean Business Coalition

Contacts:

Lindsey Longendyke, Communications Specialist, WRI, llongendyke@wri.org, +1 202 729 7858

Tara Burke, di:ga communications on behalf of CDP, taraburkeconsultant@gmail.com, +44 7747 745675

Margaret Fenwick, Communications and Media, UN Global Compact, media@unglobalcompact.org

Mandy Woods, Head of Communications, Global Climate & Energy Initiative, WWF International, mwoods@wwf.org.za

To register to attend the Business & Climate Summit, visit http://www.businessclimatesummit.com/