Top companies make green pledge

Nike and Starbucks are among the Fortune 500 companies pledging to source their electricity from renewable energy.

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London - Goldman Sachs, Nike and Starbucks are among the Fortune 500 companies that have pledged to source 100 percent of their electricity from renewable energy.

The companies are among 36 businesses to have made the pledge to cut CO2 emissions as part of RE100, a campaign by the Climate Group, an environmental non-profit organisation.

Those making the promise may not be doing so entirely through altruism. Research has shown that businesses with a low carbon footprint make higher returns.

Mark Kenber, the head of the Climate Group, said those companies with the most ambitious carbon reduction programmes can see returns of up to 27 percent on their investments. “Lowering risk, protecting against price rises, saving millions and boosting brand is what shaping a low-carbon economy is all about,” Kenber said.

Many of the world's most powerful companies have pledged to use 100 percent renewable energy. Goldman Sachs is on the list, after it promised to cut emissions as part of the American Business Act on Climate pledge. Procter & Gamble and Johnson & Johnson have also signed up, while Nike, Walmart and Starbucks represent the campaign on the high street.

RE100 was launched one year ago during a week of events to promote climate change in New York. At the time, Ikea, BT, H&M, Nestlé and Mars were among the 12 corporate partners to have made the pledge.

The list has since grown to include a Chinese green developer, Elion Resources Group, and the Indian IT giant Infosys. The Climate Group is pushing the campaign in the run-up to the United Nations Climate accord in Paris in December.

THE INDEPENDENT