The Oslo Climate Leadership Declaration – signed by the CEOs of Unilever, Leaseplan, IKEA, HP and more –  calls for accelerated climate action from companies, through setting science-based targets to help limit global warming to well below twodegrees. Signatories also commit to use their voice as business leaders to inspire their peers, value chains, and policymakers to join them in taking bold climate action. 

The declaration, which was developed by the Business for Peace foundation in partnership with the We Mean Business coalition, was launched as the opening event of this year’s Business for Peace Summit, in Oslo at uesday 15 May.

CEOs from over 20 companies have signed the declaration to date, committing to contribute towards peak CO2-emissions by 2020 and net zero by 2050, in line with the Paris Agreement goals.  Of these, 11 are companies making new commitments to join the Science Based Targets initiative through signing the declaration. The remainder are already leading the way on corporate climate action through setting or committing to set science-based targets. 

Christiana Figueres – former Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and one of the architects behind the Paris Agreement – will deliver the keynote address at the Summit.  She will welcome the declaration and stress the need for coordinated and global action, with strong contributions from the private sector.

Nigel Topping, CEO of the We Mean Business coalition, a global coalition of nonprofit organizations, working with the world’s most influential businesses to take action on climate change, said: «2018 is a crucial year for companies to step up and take ambitious climate action and give policymakers the confidence to enhance their own national climate plans.  We welcome the new companies committing to join the Science Based Targets initiative by signing the declaration.

“Over 400 companies have now set or committed to set targets through the Science Based Targets initiative as a way of future-proofing growth. Companies with science-based targets are seeing benefits like increased innovation, cost savings and investment, as well as reduced regulatory uncertainty – proving that there is a clear business case for doing so.” 

Per L. Saxegaard, chairman of Oslo-based Business for Peace, a foundation that aims to recognise global business leaders who are positively changing the face of business, said:  «When shaping the text for the declaration, our younger team members were adamant that we needed to do more, faster.  They pressed home that the world needs effective action now.  The foundation’s goal is to spread the idea that companies must create value for all their stakeholders. We can create no greater value than what results if the private sector helps tackle climate change.  Generations to come will be grateful.»

Business for Peace will work with We Mean Business coalition as well as its other partners and international network to recruit companies to the declaration in the year ahead, asking signatories to lead on climate action.The initiative is supported by the UN Development Programme, UN Global Compact, the International Chamber of Commerce and Principles for Responsible Investment.  Norway 203040, a coalition of companies working to reduce Norway’s carbon emissions, is also supporting the declaration, with several members already standing as signatories.  

In 2016, Business for Peace initiated its Businessworthy Pledge, calling for business leaders to  support  the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Oslo Climate Leadership Declaration was developed with the aim of addressing SDG 13 – Climate Action.

Oslo Climate Leadership Declaration signatories to date:

Agder Energi
Allelon Energy Partners
Australian Ethical
Avantgarde Innovations
DNV GL
Elinta UAB
Enagás
Finance Norway
Glen Dimplex
HP
IKEA
Kao Corporation
Leaseplan
Mo Ibrahim Foundation
Novo Nordisk AS
Olam
Pt. Pran Indo Permata Abadi (PIPA)
Renas
Sharp Six
Skubios Siuntos UAB
Storebrand
Umoe
Unilever

Business for Peace is an international foundation based in Oslo that aims to recognise global business leaders who are positively changing the face of business. At the centre of the Foundation’s activities is the annual Oslo Business for Peace Award, conferred to individuals who exemplify the Foundation’s concept of being businessworthy: ethically and responsibly creating value both for both business and society.  An independent Award Committee, consisting of Nobel Laureates in Peace and Economics, selects the Award Honourees each year. The Foundation also hosts an annual Summit bringing together business leaders, investors, leaders of NGOs, politicians, academics, and civil society from all over the world to discuss the practical actions needed in order to make substantial and sustainable business contributions to society.

Find out more at http://www.businessforpeace.org

We Mean Business is a global coalition of nonprofit organizations working with the world’s most influential businesses to take action on climate change. The coalition brings together seven organizations, BSRCDPCeresThe B TeamThe Climate GroupThe Prince of Wales’s Corporate Leaders Group and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development. Together we catalyze business action to drive policy ambition and accelerate the transition to a low-carbon economy. Find out more at wemeanbusinesscoaltion.org.