January 28, 2008

Climate Change Not a Big Business Priority

A recent survey of more than 500 big businesses in Britain, the US, Germany, Japan, India and China found that only five percent of the companies questioned regarded global warming as their top priority, according to this report by the Independent. Only 11 percent rank it as second or third, and nearly twice as many companies see climate change as imposing costs on their business as those who see it as an opportunity to make money.

That said, the survey, carried about by Accenture, also found that 4 out of 5 of the companies want governments to take a central role in tackling climate change. Nearly half of the companies said that climate change was already a major issue for them, but more than half confessed to be struggling to understand its implications. Nearly 67 percent agreed they have a role to play in combating climate change, but only 40 percent felt in a position to do it.

The European Corporate Leaders on Climate Change group has called for “a strong and clear policy framework” to enable cuts in emissions. And the US Climate Action Partnership, which includes the heads of such companies as Alcoa, DuPont and GE, have urged President Bush to “establish a mandatory emissions pathway” leading to a 30 percent reduction in 15 years.

According to another survey, many Fortune 500 companies still have not embraced sustainability.

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