Climate Savers Looking for 1,300 Members

February 3, 2007

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Twelve corporations in WWF’s Climate Savers Program are on course to eliminate at least ten million tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually by 2010. Members of the Progam, Johnson & Johnson, IBM, Nike, Polaroid, Collins, Xanterra, Sagawa, Sony, Lafarge, Catalyst, Tetra Pak, and Novo Nordisk, met last week in Paris.

If 1,300 more large companies join them, this would fulfil the current climate targets of the Kyoto Protocol, says WWF.

“Fighting climate change can provide business opportunities and spur innovation and jobs in all parts of the world,” says Hans Verolme, Director of WWF’s Global Climate Change Programme. “The Climate Savers companies show that sustainable development is not an academic concept but something that can be tackled with a profit – for nature, for society, but also for the companies themselves.”

“Lafarge made its Climate Savers commitment back in 2001 to reduce its carbon dioxide emissions,” says Bruno Lafont, CEO of Lafarge. “Since then, we have worked hard to extend this initiative within the cement sector and we are pleased that a number of other major cement players have decided to commit themselves as well.”

Sportswear manufacturer Nike received an award at this year’s Climate Savers conference for having reached its carbon dioxide reduction target. “Participation in Climate Savers enabled us to get an early start on an issue that has major consequences for business and society,” says Sarah Severn, Director, Corporate Responsibility Horizons at Nike. “We have found that constraints can lead to tremendous innovation and despite growth in our owned and managed operations we have become more efficient with our energy use. Our next steps will be partnering with suppliers to further reduce our manufacturing and logistics climate footprint.”

Catalyst, the only Canadian Climate Savers company so far, pledged to reduce its carbon dioxide emissions 70 per cent by 2010 compared to 1990 levels through lower energy use, switching from fossil fuels to renewable biomass, and better equipment and water efficiency.”Catalyst joined WWF’s Climate Savers initiative because we believe collective action is the best way to address the risk of global warming,” says Lyn Brown, Vice-President, Corporate Affairs and Social Responsibility, for the world’s largest directory paper producer. “There is simply no excuse to do nothing. We can show cost-effective strategies exist and we are implementing them now to make steady reductions in our own greenhouse gas emissions.”

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