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The climate deal struck in Paris was hailed a political victory, but the world’s leading companies seem to be leaving governments behind in the fight against climate change.
The Paris agreement has come under fire for a lack of detail about how to keep the world below the 2°C danger threshold of warming, but for the first time the responsibility of tackling climate change is not solely on governments.
During the UN talks, renewable electricity supplier Good Energy hosted business leaders at Facebook’s HQ in London. As well as discussing the challenges faced by businesses as a direct result of climate change, they shared ideas about the ways in which companies could respond.
‘The purpose of business is to meet societal needs and offer solutions to critical problems. The opportunity for clean energy to help solve the issue of climate change is reflected in the increasing demand to go 100% renewable.’
David Brooks, Good Energy’s managing director
Niall Dunne, BT’s chief sustainability officer, argued that consumers will embrace renewable technology because it’s the best option available, and not just because it’s an ethical, low-carbon solution. The telecommunications company is one of a growing number of businesses that see sustainable as the new normal.
Choosing 100% renewable electricity is just one of the ways in which forward-thinking businesses are responding to the challenges of climate change: the simple switch to 100% renewable electricity reduces your personal carbon footprint by up to 24%.
Good Energy is at the forefront of the movement, supplying 100% renewable electricity to 55,000 homes and businesses around the UK.
Renewables provided over a fifth of the UK’s electricity last year – up from less than 4% in 2005.
The supply has been driven by demand from businesses and consumers who realise they can play a part in tackling climate change.
The Paris climate conference saw more engagement than ever before; for the first time, members of the public were invited through the doors as the role of people, not politics, was recognised.
Actor and comedian Robert Llewellyn, of Red Dwarf fame, was one of many personalities who encouraged people at the talks to make one simple choice for the planet.
‘These are such 19th-century notions, digging stuff out of the ground, burning it in archaic systems to either power out-of-date technology like internal combustion engines or heat water, turn it to steam to drive turbines to generate electricity. I mean come on, isn’t it time we finally left the steam age where it belongs – in museums?’
Robert Llewellyn, actor and comedian
Click here to find out more about switching to 100% renewable electricity.
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