Big US brands call for climate regulations

www.environmental-finance.com/
London, 20 November:

Five of the biggest brands in the US called on Wednesday for the incoming US government to introduce strong climate legislation early in 2009.

Uniting under the banner Business for Innovative Climate and Energy Policy (BICEP), Levi Strauss, Nike, Starbucks, Sun Microsystems and Timberland said legislation was needed to boost the clean energy economy and mitigate the risks that global warming could have on their businesses.

A phasing-out of coal-fired power plants except those equipped with carbon capture and storage technology, the introduction of a greenhouse gas (GHG) cap-and-trade system in which all carbon allowances were auctioned, and a national plan to stimulate renewable energy were the key demands from the group.

BICEP said it would lobby Congress to set GHG reduction targets of at least 25% below 1990 levels by 2020 and 80% below 1990 levels by 2050, establish aggressive policies to double historic energy efficiency rates and adopt a national renewable portfolio requiring 20% of electricity to be generated from renewable energy sources by 2020 and 30% by 2030.

Sarah Severn, head of Nike's corporate responsibility team, said the five corporations had decided to launch the initiative as they had "felt the consumer brand voice was missing" from the climate change debate. The companies said it was important the US acted immediately to mitigate the costs of climate change and "jump-start a new economy".

Ben Packard, Starbucks vice president, said he believed "economic viability and environmental stewardship" went hand-in-hand and that stricter climate legislation would stimulate business rather than stymie the economy. "The cost of inaction is higher [economically and environmentally]," said Packard. Severn said: "Nike...believes legislative action on climate change and clean energy is not only urgent but imperative to creating positive, long-term change".

Hilary Krane, senior vice president of corporate affairs at Levi Strauss, said: "Large-scale climate change would have economic, social and environmental consequences for our business and the communities in which we operate. We can voluntarily change our own behaviour ... but we also believe that US government leadership is essential if we are to create an environment in which every US company recognises the role it must play in addressing climate change."