How Can Companies Show Leadership on Climate Change?

Just 15 years ago, when the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol initiative was in its early days, only a few leading companies measured and reported their emissions. Today it is standard practice. What is next for corporate leadership on climate change?

Companies can look to WRI for guidance on a new set of leadership actions such as those championed by coalitions like We Mean Business. In the coming months and years, companies will be expected to:

• Adopt a science-based GHG emissions reduction target.
  WRI, CDP, UN Global Compact and WWF are helping companies use climate science as a benchmark for GHG performance targets.
  Learn more. Contact: Cynthia Cummis

• Put a price on carbon.
  WRI and partners are gathering experiences and input from dozens of companies that are creating internal carbon pricing programs and supporting public policy action.
  Learn more. Contact: Eliot Metzger

• Procure 100% of electricity from renewable sources.
  As a means of supporting and realizing ambitious corporate renewable energy goals, WRI and WWF are working with companies to establish a set of Buyers’ Principles in electricity markets around the United States.
  Learn more. Contact: Letha Tawney, Priya Barua

• Engage responsibly in climate policy.
  WRI and seven partner organizations established a shared expectation for how companies can demonstrate that they are lobbying on climate policy in a credible, transparent, and consistent manner.
  Learn more. Contact: Eliot Metzger

• Disclose climate friendliness of portfolios and manage carbon asset risk.
  WRI, as a member of the Portfolio Carbon Initiative, is developing a series of resources to guide financial institutions towards greater climate performance and away from the risks attached to carbon-intensive assets.
  Learn more. Contact: Cynthia Cummis

• Remove commodity-driven deforestation from all supply chains by 2020.
  WRI has created Global Forest Watch—Commodities, a business tool to address deforestation in commodity supply chains.
  Learn more. Contact: Sarah Lake

• Map and assess your company’s water risks in a changing climate.
  WRI has created the Aqueduct Water Risk Atlas as a tool for business, investors, and others to understand water risks to operations and supply chains.
  Learn more. Contact: Andrew Maddocks

• Interested to learn more about WRI’s work with companies on climate change and other sustainability priorities?
  WRI's Corporate Consultative Group is a collection of forward-thinking companies interested in understanding sustainability issues that affect the corporate community. The Group serves as a vehicle for exchanging valuable thinking about responses to shared challenges.
  Learn more. Contacts: Andreea Culian, Amy D’Avella