Low-carbon products will make up at least half of the products and services of many of the world’s biggest companies within a decade, a new survey has revealed, while a fifth of those questioned said that every single one of their products would be low-carbon by 2028.
The survey defined low-carbon as “causing only a relatively small net release of CO2 into the atmosphere.”
The survey, on behalf of the Science Based Targets Initiative, shows that most businesses that have signed up to the initiative expect to decarbonize their products or the services they offer by 2028.
The Science Based Targets initiative mobilizes companies to set targets based on the targets agreed in the Paris climate change agreement that was agreed in the French capital in December 2015, in which 195 countries agreed to work to keep average temperature rises below 2°C to prevent dangerous climate change. “This signalled an acceleration in the transition to a low carbon economy,” the initiative says, and companies that want to gain a competitive advantage, avoid falling foul of more burdensome regulations and make their companies more resilient to the physical impacts of climate change and the switch to a low-carbon economy are signing up to the initiative.
Targets adopted by companies to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are considered “science-based” if they are in line with the level of decarbonization required to keep global temperature increase below 2°C compared to pre- industrial temperatures, as described in the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
The initiative defines and promotes best practice in science-based target setting, offers resources and guidance to reduce barriers to adoption, and independently assesses and approves companies’ targets.