Fifth Anniversary Snapshot Shows Signatories Have Reduced Emissions By 3.6 Million Tonnes

The Climate Leaders Coalition has today launched its fifth anniversary Snapshot Report which reveals signatories have collectively reduced their emissions by 3.6 million tonnes since joining the Coalition.

"The business movement for climate change has come a long way since we launched in 2018. I’m really proud of what the Coalition has achieved over the past five years in the context of tough trading conditions and inflationary pressures, not to mention Covid-19 disruptions," CLC Convenor and Spark CEO Jolie Hodson says.

"The combined emissions reduction achieved by our signatories between the time they signed up to the Coalition and now is 3.6 million tCO2e. That’s a cumulative 29 per cent reduction and equivalent to the average annual emissions of 270,000 New Zealanders.

"The work of signatories to reduce their emissions and adapt to climate change is also underpinned by significant current and planned investment of $19 billion between 2020 and 2030."

Other Coalition fifth anniversary highlights include:

• 100% of signatories are working within their value chains, including with suppliers and customers, to reduce their scope 3 emissions, compared to 60% in 2018-19.
• 85% of signatories have a 1.5 degree-aligned emissions reduction pathway for scope 1 and 2 emissions. The remainder are working on moving to a 1.5 degree-aligned target or waiting on updated guidance from the Science-Based Targets initiative.
• 97% of signatories have identified and measured their current significant scope 3 emissions, up from 35% in 2018-19.
• 83% of signatories are now disclosing their climate risks and opportunities, up from 21% in 2020.
• Signatories have trebled the number of EVs and hybrids in their vehicle fleets to 3,353 and are trialing a number of New Zealand and world-first EVs, like EV passenger ferries, diggers, fire engines, jetboats and tipper trucks.
• The Coalition has raised the bar three times on what it means to be a climate leader through its membership criteria.
• The Coalition has advocated for a stable climate change legislative and policy architecture through three general election cycles, to provide certainty for businesses and communities to invest and transform.

"Emissions reductions from here on in will be hard won. This is especially true as we all grapple with tackling the scope 3 emissions of our suppliers and customers. We will also have to make some tough calls on adaptation and managed retreat, including who pays.

"We look forward to working with the incoming Government and wider Parliament to meet New Zealand’s emissions reduction goals, improve climate resilience, and provide for a just transition."

The Snapshot Report can be found here.

About the Climate Leaders Coalition

The Climate Leaders Coalition was launched in July 2018 with a mission of having business CEOs leading the response to climate change through collective, transparent, and meaningful action on mitigation and adaptation. The Coalition has 88 signatories who collectively create around 32% of GDP, have a collective turnover of $126 billion and employ more than 213,000 people.

The Coalition’s 2025 vision is that New Zealand businesses are influencing climate action in their value chains, creating momentum so other businesses must act on climate change, and maintaining pressure on all political parties to adopt policies and make investments that enable the transition to a zero-carbon and climate resilient economy.

By joining the Coalition, each signatory commits to taking climate action as outlined in the Coalition’s Statement of Ambition. The Coalition’s work is overseen by a CEO Steering Group and headed by a CEO convenor. The Sustainable Business Council provides secretariat support for the Coalition. www.climateleaderscoalition.org.nz

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