COP21 Commitment and call for action from Irish Business Leaders
COP 21 (the annual UN Conference of Parties on climate change) commenced in Paris on 30 November. It will, for the first time in over 20 years of UN negotiations, aim to achieve a legally binding and universal agreement on climate, with the aim of keeping global warming below 2°C. This agreement is critically important so that we avoid dangerous climate change which poses unacceptable social, environmental and economic risks.
Business groups around the world have called on political leaders to ensure a robust agreement emerges from Paris and have made commitments to taking action on climate change.
Some members of Business in the Community Ireland have come together to demonstrate their commitment to this important issue and to show support to our Government for a strong outcome at Paris and the implementation of the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Bill 2015. Arup, BAM Ireland, Deloitte Ireland, Marks & Spencer, Musgrave Group, PM Group, Ricoh Ireland Ltd., Roadbridge, Sodexo Ireland, SSE Airtricity, Transdev Ireland and Veolia have signed the ‘COP21 Commitment and call for action from Irish Business Leaders’ which calls for strong policy and regulatory certainty through a sound global agreement in Paris. The statement also welcomes the progression of the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Bill 2015 and acknowledges action on climate change as a key component of corporate responsibility. The signed statement can be found here.
The statement was presented to Alan Kelly, T.D., Minister for the Environment, Community & Local Government on Wednesday 2nd December together with pledges from CDP Ireland Network We Mean Business Coalition, the Irish Green Building Council (IGBC), Dublin Chamber of Commerce and the International Sustainability & Investment Centre (ISI Centre).
Separately many of our members have made their own commitments to reducing their carbon emissions. Companies such as BAM Contractors, Coca-Cola HBC Ireland, Dawn Meats Group, Diageo Ireland, IBM, Intel, Kellogg’s, KPMG, Musgrave Group, Ricoh Ireland, Symantec, Transdev Ireland, and Veolia have already made significant reductions in their emissions and have committed to even further action in this area. A list of individual commitments made by members can be found here.
Pictured above from left: Alan Kelly, TD,Minister of Environment, Community & Local Government – Aebhric McGibney, Public & International Affairs Director, Dublin Chamber of Commerce – Pat Barry, Executive Director, Irish Green Building Council – Brian O’Kennedy, Chairman, CDP Ireland Network – Aideen O’Hara, Director of Sustainable Innovation, ISI Centre – Lorraine Fitzgerald, CSR Adviser, Business in the Community Ireland.
For any queries please contact CSR Adviser Lorraine Fitzgerald lfitzgerald@bitc.ie or call 01 874 7232
Tags:
