Business and the UN Climate Summit

The UN Climate Summit, which is taking place on September 23, has invited a number of business leaders, however, those businesses not in attendance can also participate in a number of ways. Interested parties can follow the summit online through live broadcasts. There will also be a wide assortment of events of interest to businesses taking place throughout climate week (September 22-28).

UN Private Sector Forum

Business leaders are participating in the Climate Summit at the UN Private Sector Forum. Convened by the UN Global Compact in close
cooperation with the World Bank Group, and with the support of UN
partners, the UN Private Sector Forum luncheon will be held during the
Secretary-General’s Climate Summit to provide a unique platform for
Governments and business to demonstrate their leadership on climate
change. The UN Private Sector Forum will bring together Heads of State
with chief executives and leaders from civil society and the UN to
engage in discussion on innovative and scalable climate change
solutions. Carbon pricing will be featured as a global policy advocacy
priority.

A Business and Civil Society Special Session, convened
by UN Global Compact, will take place prior to the High-Level Luncheon,
from 11:30 to 13:00. This session will feature leadership actions that
businesses can take in cooperation with Governments to address climate
change.

Commit to Action on Climate Change

Those businesses not in attendance can also participate by taking action to combat climate change, this includes 8 action areas (Agriculture, cities, energy, financing, forests, petroleum and industry, resilience and transportation). The UN Secretary-General called for commitments to action from the private sector in advance of the Climate Summit. Commitments to action can take many forms to leverage the unique strengths and characteristics of each actor. All commitments are promises to take action, alone or in partnership.

Action Areas.

Advance one or more UN Goals and Issues
Include time-bound target(s) that can be measured for success
Include an agreement to publicly disclose, on an annual basis, the progress made to realize the commitment, throughout its duration.
Companies are also invited to report on progress from commitments made at the Rio+20 Corporate Sustainability Forum.
By making a commitment to action and reporting their tangible progress, companies can demonstrate leadership towards promoting and supporting the UN climate change agenda.

For more information click here.

Join Caring for Climate: Be a Leading Business in Addressing Climate Change

Caring for Climate encourages businesses to make a lasting commitment to climate action. This is the world’s largest global coalition on climate led by the UN Global Compact, UNEP and UNFCCC. Launched by the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in 2007, Caring for Climate provides a framework for business leaders to advance practical climate solutions and help shape public policy.

Chief executive officers who support the Caring for Climate Statement are prepared to set goals, develop and expand strategies and practices, and to publicly disclose emissions.

Since 2007 Caring for Climate has grown to over 350 companies from 50 countries.

For more information click here.

Demonstrate Leadership on Carbon Pricing

In the lead-up to the UN Secretary-General”s
Climate Summit, the UN Global Compact and selected partners of Caring
for Climate are calling on companies to demonstrate leadership in
pricing the cost of carbon emissions as a crucial and effective measure
to tackle climate change. A set of Business Leadership Criteria on
Carbon Pricing have been developed to inspire companies to reach the
next level of climate performance, and to recognize businesses that are
at the forefront of advocating for a price on carbon. The Business
Leadership Criteria complement a Statement on Putting a Price on Carbon
developed by the World Bank Group and other partners to call for
countries and companies to demonstrate strong global support and action
toward pricing carbon.

The Business Leadership Criteria on Carbon Pricing comprise three distinct but overlapping dimensions:

1. Integrating carbon pricing into long-term strategies and investment decisions
2. Responsible policy advocacy
3. Communication on progress

Companies are invited to review the Business Leadership Criteria on Carbon Pricing and indicate alignment with them.

For more information click here.