Vancouver, BC, Sept. 18, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, it is being announced that 100 CEOs and business leaders in Canada, the US and UK, have signed a Statement calling for Climate Action Now* in advance on the global climate strikes.
B Corps, which use business as a force for good, have coordinated this collective action among business leaders to demonstrate the business community’s support for the students’ climate strikes and their call for climate action. This follows Greta Thunberg, who has led student protests across the globe, asking for businesses to stand by students during Climate Change Week.
Denise Taschereau, the CEO and co-founder of Fairware, and one of the B Corp leaders facilitating this action, says: “This activation started with several CEOs in Vancouver wanting to unite and collectively call for immediate climate action. It’s both inspiring and reassuring to see this support transcend country borders, with progressive businesses in the UK and US also signing this statement, and sharing the urgency we feel in Canada.”
“The business leaders that have signed this statement recognize that our climate crisis requires action by policymakers if we’re to transition to a low-carbon economy. The climate crisis is a global problem, and we need to globally unite if we’re going to address it in time.”
The Statement for Climate Action Now has been signed by 70+ Canadian business leaders, nearly 20+ UK business leaders, and 10+ US business leaders. The full list of CEOs and businesses that have signed this statement for climate action now is available here.
The Climate Strikes are taking place on September 20 in the UK and the US, and on September 27 in Canada.
Footnotes:
*The Statement for Climate Action Now is below:
The “Climate Action Now” statement is in response to the alarming and ever-growing threat caused by the climate crisis. While the International Panel on Climate Change highlighted that we have less than 12 years to avoid a climate catastrophe, there is a growing body of experts suggesting that we have less than 18 months to take urgent action, with 2020 being the deadline for global carbon dioxide emissions peaking if we’re to keep the planet below 1.5C.
Business leaders are stepping up to call for immediate climate action, recognizing that the climate crisis is not just a business and economic risk, but a humanitarian risk. While as a whole B Corps and progressive businesses are striving to be better for the environment and working to minimize our collective impact, it’s not nearly enough.
Given our climate emergency, it’s not enough for individual companies to buy offsets, put solar on roofs, or even to create internal carbon taxes or transition to regenerative agriculture. Rethinking entire business models is necessary, but also insufficient.
Our climate crisis requires action by policymakers to align incentives and to create a level playing field or a just transition to a low-carbon economy. It’s time to use our voice as business leaders to make that call to action to local, provincial and federal policy makers to take action.