SDG 13: Climate Action
There is no country that is not experiencing the drastic effects of climate change. Greenhouse gas emissions are more than 50 percent higher than in 1990. Global warming is causing long-lasting changes to our climate system, which threatens irreversible consequences if we do not act.
The annual average economic losses from climate-related disasters are in the hundreds of billions of dollars. This is not to mention the human impact of geo-physical disasters, which are 91 percent climate-related, and which between 1998 and 2017 killed 1.3 million people, and left 4.4 billion injured. The goal aims to mobilize US$100 billion annually by 2020 to address the needs of developing countries to both adapt to climate change and invest in low-carbon development.
Supporting vulnerable regions will directly contribute not only to Goal 13 but also to the other SDGs. These actions must also go hand in hand with efforts to integrate disaster risk measures, sustainable natural resource management, and human security into national development strategies. It is still possible, with strong political will, increased investment, and using existing technology, to limit the increase in global mean temperature to two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, aiming at 1.5°C, but this requires urgent and ambitious collective action. (UNDP, 2015)
Companies that are achieving this are:
Unilever Pte Ltd (NYSE:UL)
Industry: Food & Staples Retailing, Beverages, Food Products, Household Products, Personal Products
Headquartered in: UK
In 2020, Unilever met 51.9% of its global energy needs for its manufacturing operations from renewable sources such as solar, wind and hydro power. Unilever is working towards eliminating fossil fuels entirely from its operations and move to 100% renewable energy by 2030. At the same time, it is progressing towards the target of net zero emissions from all its products by 2039, up to point of sale - meaning that its GHG emissions will be radically reduced at every step of production, from the sourcing of raw materials, to manufacturing, right up to when its products are sold.
Unilever's product brands are also nudging consumers towards sustainable lifestyle choices.
BAYER (FWB:BAYN, OTC:BAYRY)
1. Pledged to reduce CO2 emissions from their own business operations by 42% by increasing energy efficiency at their sites1 and sourcing 100% of their electricity from renewable energies by 2029 2. Pledged to reduce CO2 emissions along the upstream and downstream value chain by at least 12.3%, especially through procurement measures, but also by restricting business travel
Industry: Agricultural Products, Personal Products, Pharmaceuticals
Headquartered in: Germany
Microsoft (NYSE:MSFT)
Industry: Software development / Computer hardware / Consumer electronics / Social networking service / Cloud computing / Video games / Internet / Corporate venture capital
Headquartered in: US
Microsoft has been carbon neutral across the world since 2012 and commits to being carbon negative by 2030.
They aim to promote sustainable development and low-carbon business practices globally through our sustainable business practices and cloud-enabled technologies.
Mastercard (NYSE:MA)
Industry: Financial services company
Headquartered in: US
Net-zero goal for 2050.
Action plan calls for continuing the reduction of emissions in our operations and bolstering efforts to decarbonize our supply chain.
Commited to reduce absolute Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions 38% by 2025
Reduce absolute Scope 3 GHG emissions 20% from a 2016 base year
The 1.5°C classified target has been approved by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) — the most ambitious designation recognized by SBTi.
All owned campuses and owned data centers are certified by Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), and nearly 90% of their global workspace meets regional or international green certification standards.
Mastercard joined RE100, a coalition of leading businesses working toward zero carbon emissions, to formalize our commitment to continue sourcing 100% renewable electricity across our global operations.
Received an “A” rating for Supplier Engagement since 2018 from CDP, a global environmental disclosure system whose members measure, manage and disclose their risks and accomplishments on climate change.
Capitaland (SGX:C31, OTC:CLLDY)
Industry: Real estate development
Headquartered in: Singapore
Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY)
Industry: Pharmaceuticals
Headquartered in: US
By 2030, Lilly is committed to being carbon neutral in its own operations.
Danone (EPA:BN, OTC:DANOY)
Industry: Food & Staples Retailing, Beverages, Food Products
Headquartered in: France
As stated in its 2015 Climate Policy, Danone has committed to become a carbon neutral company by 2050, on its full scope of responsibility including agriculture, through solutions co-created with its partners.
In 2019, Danone showed for the first time a “carbon-adjusted” recurring earnings per share (EPS) evolution that takes into account an estimated financial cost for the absolute GHG emissions on its entire value chain. Moreover, Danone is stepping up the speed and increasing the depth of its transformation actions to put climate further at the core of its growth model. This will translate into an accelerated investment plan of around €2 billion cumulative over the 2020-2022 period on brands, climate and agriculture, packaging (about €900 million) and digitalization.
Accenture (NYSE:ACN)
Industry: IT Consulting & Other Services
Headquartered in: Ireland
1. Established a Client Carbon Savings program to identify emissions-reduction activities that help their clients meet their goals 2. Partnering with Salesforce to bring sustainability to the front office with visibility into real-time Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) data. 3. By 2025, they plan to be powering their offices with 100% renewable energy, engaging key suppliers to reduce their emissions and equipping our people to make climate-smart travel decisions.