Unilever and AkzoNobel score high in the climate rankings

LONDON (Reuters) – According to British think tank InfluenceMap, Unilever and AkzoNobel belong to an international vanguard that clearly supports ambitious climate policy and acts accordingly. According to the researchers, the Anglo-Dutch food group and Dutch paint factory belong to a select group that shows leadership. There are a total of fifteen large companies on the non-profit’s A-List.

European companies dominate the list. Many of them are active in the field of sustainable energy. For example, the Danish mill construction company Ørsted and the Spanish energy company Iberdrola. Unilever competitor Nestlé, furniture maker IKEA and clothing company H&M are also doing well. The list also includes three US companies: electric car maker Tesla, energy companies Edison International and PG&E. Companies from countries such as Japan, Canada and Australia are absent from the list.

The drafters still see a “lack of binding progressive climate policies” in many countries. InfluenceMap says much of the global business community “appears apathetic or energetic against far-reaching climate action”.

According to the makers of the list, the companies on the list have “consistently and actively supported climate policies in line with the Paris climate agreement,” signed by world leaders in 2015. The agreement sets the goal of limiting global warming to a maximum of 1.5 degrees and 2 degrees compared to pre-historic times. Industrial age. Whether that will work is uncertain; According to the IPCC, the 1.5 degree mark may have already been reached sometime in the next two decades.

The global temperature has already risen by 1.1 degrees. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warned in August that only rapid and broad cuts in greenhouse gas emissions can keep climate goals within reach.