Business in the Community has launched a new Net-Zero Carbon Taskforce following the government’s commitment to reduce to greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050.
The taskforce will be chaired by Jonathan Kini, the chief executive of Drax’s business supply arm. Its members include EDF Energy, Lloyds Bank, UPS and Sky along with the Environment Agency and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.
“Business in the Community’s Net-Zero Carbon Taskforce aims to identify the simplest, most effective actions businesses can take, to collectively have a serious impact on climate breakdown and ensure a just transition that benefits all,” said Kini.
“The barriers to sustainability vary from business to business – I know from conversations with our customers that making improvements often appears unnecessarily complicated. We want to break down those barriers and make the solutions simpler to implement, so UK businesses can quickly and easily take effective steps to address the climate crisis.”
Business in the Community was founded more than 40 years ago by the Prince of Wales to champion responsible business practices.
Its environment director, Gudrun Cartwright, said: “While Business in the Community endorses this target, 2050 may be too late according to current science-based predictions.
“UK cities are committing to earlier targets such as Glasgow’s target to achieve net zero carbon by 2045, Manchester by 2038, Edinburgh and Bristol by 2030 and Nottingham by 2028.
“Business is also stepping up to the plate, with companies including Drax and National Grid Ventures developing what may be the world’s first net-zero carbon cluster in the Humber and the water industry collectively setting a target for net zero by 2030.”
He continued: “As one of more than 120 organisations that wrote an open letter to the prime minister urging the government to legislate for a 2050 net zero economy, we fully support the UK adopting an ambitious stance to tackle climate breakdown and ask the government to act quickly.
“Business must be at the forefront of the transformation we need, bringing the innovation and entrepreneurial flair to accelerate change.”
The taskforce will initially focus on creating a roadmap plotting out how businesses can support the fight against climate change and developing a toolkit to help them take action.