SEATTLE -Thursday 3 December 2020 [ AETOS Wire ]
18 companies have now joined The Climate Pledge, a commitment co-founded by Amazon and Global Optimism to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement 10 years early
New signatories are implementing real, science-based, high-impact changes to their businesses, including deploying renewable energy, investing in sustainable buildings, and mobilizing supply chains to reach net-zero carbon by 2040
(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Today, during Web Summit 2020, Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) and Global Optimism announced that Boom Supersonic, Cabify, JetBlue, Rivian, and Uber have joined The Climate Pledge, a commitment to be net-zero carbon by 2040—a decade ahead of the Paris Agreement’s goal of 2050.
Signatories to The Climate Pledge agree to:
Measure and report greenhouse gas emissions on a regular basis;
Implement decarbonization strategies in line with the Paris Agreement through real business changes and innovations, including efficiency improvements, renewable energy, materials reductions, and other carbon-emission elimination strategies;
Neutralize any remaining emissions with additional, quantifiable, real, permanent, and socially beneficial offsets to achieve net-zero annual carbon emissions by 2040.
“By signing The Climate Pledge, companies around the world are making a bold commitment to help protect our planet from the devastating impacts of climate change,” said Jeff Bezos, Amazon founder and CEO. “The transportation sector plays a critical role in accelerating our carbon reduction goals, and we welcome Boom, Cabify, JetBlue, Rivian, and Uber as they join us on the journey to net-zero carbon by 2040. The 18 companies who have signed The Climate Pledge so far are demonstrating leadership in the vital transition to a low-carbon economy that will help preserve the environment for future generations.”
Boom is redefining commercial flight by bringing supersonic travel back to the skies. Boom’s historic airliner, Overture, is designed to industry-leading standards of speed, safety, and sustainability. In February 2020, the company announced that the test program for its XB-1 demonstrator will be carbon neutral, through the use of sustainable aviation fuels and high-quality, vetted carbon offsetting. Boom has also committed to making Overture a net-zero carbon aircraft in development, testing, and operation, and is a member of several organizations working to accelerate the adoption and supply of sustainable aviation fuels for the airline industry. In achieving its vision of making the world more accessible, Boom views speed and sustainability as compatible goals.
“In building the world’s fastest airliner, Boom is taking an all-encompassing approach to sustainability. Having made sustainability a company priority from day one, we have been able to build best practices of environmental protection into our programs since the beginning,” said Blake Scholl, Boom founder and CEO. “We are thrilled to join The Climate Pledge and to ensure that speed and sustainability are compatible with one another.”
Cabify is the first and only urban mobility app in Europe and Latin America to be carbon neutral by offsetting 100% of all the carbon emissions that it generates – from its corporate operations and for every ride booked through the app. Cabify is also closely measuring and reducing emissions for its corporate activity and aiming to electrify its transportation fleet in Spain and Latin America—by 2025 and 2030, respectively—to reduce its carbon emissions. The company is focused on increasing environmental protections and promoting renewable energies by working on large-scale efforts in Chile, Peru and Brazil using solutions like blockchain technology for carbon offsetting.
“Efficient urban mobility is key in the fight against climate change,” said Juan de Antonio, Cabify founder and CEO. “Cabify wants to be part of the solution, and that’s why for the third year in a row we have committed to offsetting the carbon emissions that our riders and operations generate while we continue to support the electrification of the fleets we work with. We’re pleased to join The Climate Pledge to continue to be transparent about our sustainability journey.”
JetBlue is the first airline to join The Climate Pledge, and this reaffirms the company’s commitment to taking measurable steps towards reducing its climate impact. In July 2020, JetBlue became the first and only U.S. airline to achieve carbon neutrality for all domestic flights. It now expects to ramp up to over 7 million metric tons of CO2 emissions offset each year—the annual equivalent of removing more than 1.5 million passenger vehicles from the road. JetBlue views carbon offsetting as a bridge as the airline continues to ramp up lower-carbon technologies, such as sustainable aviation fuels, and build more fuel-efficient aircraft and operations. JetBlue began flying regularly out of San Francisco International Airport in July 2020 using a type of a sustainable aviation fuel, which enables up to an 80 percent reduction in CO2 emissions before being blended with traditional jet fuel.
“Air travel connects people and cultures, and supports a global economy. Our commitment to sustainability has become even more important as we prepare our business for a new climate reality,” said Robin Hayes, JetBlue CEO. “We are proud to join The Climate Pledge and join a community of like-minded organizations dedicated to reaching net zero-carbon by 2040. The climate crisis remains one of the biggest threats facing our industry. Our planet is physically changing, as are the expectations of our customers, crewmembers, and investors. Now is the time to rebuild operations in more sustainable ways, such as adopting sustainable aviation fuel and setting clear strategies to reduce net aviation CO2 emissions.”
Rivian is launching a range of adventure-oriented vehicles, as well as delivery vans specifically for Amazon last-mile delivery applications. The company’s launch products, the R1T and R1S, deliver a unique combination of performance, off-road capability and utility. These vehicles use the company’s flexible skateboard platform and will be produced at Rivian’s manufacturing plant in Normal, Ill., with customer deliveries to begin in June 2021.
"Rivian was formed to help build the kind of future our kids and our kids’ kids deserve. Rivian’s commitment to sustainable vehicle production in our consumer products and commercial vans is driven by this core objective,” said RJ Scaringe, Rivian founder and CEO. “Addressing climate change requires individuals and entire industries to come together to create solutions that shift consumer mindsets and inspire other companies to fundamentally change the way they operate. We’re excited to join The Climate Pledge community that will share knowledge, ideas, and best practices on this important mission."
Uber has committed to become a fully zero-emission platform by 2040, with 100% of rides taking place in zero-emission vehicles, on public transit, or with micromobility options such as bikes and scooters. Uber had previously set a goal to provide 100% of rides in electric vehicles (EVs) by 2030 in U.S., Canadian, and European cities. Uber has also committed to reach net-zero emissions from its corporate operations by 2030. To reach these goals, Uber is expanding Uber Green to make it easier for riders to choose to travel in hybrids or EVs; dedicating $800 million in resources to help hundreds of thousands of drivers transition to EVs by 2025; investing in our multimodal network to provide sustainable alternatives to personal cars; and being transparent and accountable to the public along the way.
“As we announced in September, Uber is taking this moment as an opportunity to drive a green recovery from the pandemic,” said Dara Khosrowshahi, Uber CEO. “We invite every company in the world to join The Climate Pledge and take action to reduce their environmental impact. Together we can more aggressively tackle the urgent challenge of climate change.”
“The Paris Agreement set out a unifying roadmap for all countries and all people to address the climate crisis by taking action,” said Christiana Figueres, the UN’s former climate change chief and Global Optimism’s founding partner. “By joining The Climate Pledge, signatories are not just making a statement of commitment to the future, they also are setting a pathway to significant actions and investments that will create jobs, spur innovation, regenerate the natural environment, and help consumers to buy more sustainable products.”
Race To Zero is a global campaign supported by The Climate Pledge to rally leadership and support from businesses, cities, regions, and investors for a healthy, resilient, zero carbon recovery. Race to Zero is partnering with Web Summit at this year’s virtual conference being held Dec. 2-4 to highlight the importance of companies coming together.
In 2019, Amazon and Global Optimism co-founded The Climate Pledge, a commitment to reach the Paris Agreement 10 years early and be net-zero carbon by 2040. Eighteen organizations have now signed The Climate Pledge: Amazon, Best Buy, Boom, Cabify, Henkel, Infosys, JetBlue, McKinstry, Mercedes-Benz, Oak View Group, Real Betis, Reckitt Benckiser (RB), Rivian, Schneider Electric, Siemens, Signify, Uber, and Verizon. These companies are sending an important signal that there will be rapid growth in demand for products and services that help reduce carbon emissions. For more information visit www.theclimatepledge.com.
About Amazon
Amazon is guided by four principles: customer obsession rather than competitor focus, passion for invention, commitment to operational excellence, and long-term thinking. Customer reviews, 1-Click shopping, personalized recommendations, Prime, Fulfillment by Amazon, AWS, Kindle Direct Publishing, Kindle, Fire tablets, Fire TV, Amazon Echo, and Alexa are some of the products and services pioneered by Amazon. For more information, visit www.amazon.com/about.
About Global Optimism
Global Optimism exists to precipitate transformational, sector-wide change. Achieving a zero emissions future is not a far-off challenge. It’s one we must get on track for now. Every scientific assessment shows that to meet the goal of net -zero emissions by 2050, to keep global heating below 1.5 degrees Celsius, we must halve our emissions between 2020 and 2030. Tackling the climate crisis is only possible when everyone, everywhere plays their part. We work with like-minded collectives from all sectors who are willing to invest in the choices required to be on this challenging – and life-affirming – journey. For more information, visit https://globaloptimism.com/.
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