Major US Companies Pledge to Reduce Carbon Footprint

A group of well-known giant firms across the US have agreed to invest billions of dollars in green projects and to support the US government in its efforts to launch a global campaign against climate change.

The recently launched campaign, called the American Business Act on Climate Pledge, has the support of 13 major US companies, including Goldman Sachs, Apple, and Google.

According to the White House, this campaign is capable of injecting low-carbon investments worth $140 billion into the world’s economy.

The companies feel that the commitment of the private sector is essential to getting hold of global support for the fight against climate change. Climate talks, sponsored by the United Nations (UN), are scheduled to be held in Paris this December with the aim of creating a mechanism to help countries reduce their carbon footprint. Developing nations have demanded during previously held talks that developed nations ought to contribute billions of dollars to help them implement low-carbon options.

Mindy Lubber, the president of an environmental investment firm called Ceres, welcomed the commitments made by the large companies, but warned the government that it cannot depend on these pledges alone. She said:

Voluntary commitments alone will not get us the meaningful reductions we need. Strong carbon-reducing policies are hugely important.

It is also worth noting that no company from the fossil fuel sector has made a commitment although the US government says that a second round of pledges will be made before the climate change conference scheduled to be held in Paris this December.

Other companies that have pledged to implement measures to reduce their carbon footprints are Microsoft, General Motors, Coca Cola, and Bank of America. According to the White House, these pledges will lead to the generation of a minimum of 1,600 MW of renewable energy. The companies will also aim at zero deforestation.

Google, which says that it is the largest buyer of renewable energy at the international level, pledged that it will triple its renewable energy purchases during the next ten years.

Apple has pledged to generate 300 MW of clean renewable energy in China’s Sichuan Province and in five US states. Berkshire Hathaway said that it will reduce 75% of its coal-fueled energy generating facilities in Nevada by the year 2019.

While Pepsi has committed to expanding its sustainable farming initiatives, Coca Cola said that it will reduce its carbon footprint by 25% in the next five years.