ActOnCopenhagen has invited leading figures from across the fields of business, law and employment to offer their views on what they want to see come out of Copenhagen and what employers can do to contribute to the reductions in carbon emissions that must be achieved in order to tackle climate change. Contact us if you'd like to be profiled.

Stuart Rose - Marks and Spencer

Sir Stuart rose the Executive Chairman of Marks and Spencer discusses how a big business can be sustainable and profitable, as well as his message for why M&S want a Copenhagen deal.

 

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Craig Bennett

An agreement signed by more than 800 companies across 60 countries shows governments meeting in Copenhagen that it is possible to reach a deal on climate change that will enable business to invest to help deliver reductions in carbon emissions, the co-director of the Prince of Wales's Corporate Leaders Group on Climate Change (CLG) has told actoncopenhagen.gov.uk

Craig Bennett said that a good deal from the climate change conference in December would 'lay the foundations' for a low carbon recovery from the current recession.

He said that the Copenhagen Communiqué on Climate Change set out in just two pages the business case for a strong and robust deal on climate change and offered the key elements that a deal should include.

'It makes it clear that tackling climate change will be good for the global economy – whilst ignoring it will harm business in the long term,' he said. 'Crucially it says that if we can get a good deal in Copenhagen, it will lay down the conditions for low carbon growth.'

Speaking at London St Pancras International station, the home of Eurostar trains, he added: '[It will] ensure that we exit this recession in a way that lays the foundations for a low carbon future – whether it is putting low carbon infrastructure in place, such as high speed rail or carbon, capture and storage.'

But he warned that if ministers failed to reach a deal, it would harm competitiveness and make it harder for business to predict where to invest for the future. He said that the technologies and the solutions existed but what was needed was the 'political will and right conditions' to enable business to invest.

The CLG brings together business leaders from major UK, EU and international companies who believe that there is an urgent need to develop new and longer-term policies for tackling climate change.

Mr Bennett said it was 'extraordinary' that so many companies from so many countries – including from all members of the G20 – have added their support to the communique. 'If it is possible for companies based in all these countries to agree on the need for a robust deal in Copenhagen and what the key elements should be, it should be possible for governments to do the same.'

'If we can do that in 2010 we can start laying the foundations for a low carbon economy rather than just talking about it.'

Related links

The Copenhagen Communiqué on Climate Change - What is it and how can your company get involved? (PDF 611.84KB) 

The Prince of Wales's Corporate Leaders Group on Climate Change (CLG)

Lord Browne

Negotiators in Copenhagen must deliver a 'clear and stable' framework that will enable business to work towards a low-carbon future while remaining competitive, Lord Browne, former group chief executive of BP tells this website.

 

'Business will be behind anything that is clear and stable because in the end they will be rational and it is up to the people in Copenhagen to think of values…and the real understanding of what to do for this generation and the next generations and businesses will have to respond in a rational way provided that the systems are set up to make it possible for them to do that.'

 

Brendan Barber, Trade Union Congress

The leader of the trade union movement in the UK has urged politicians meeting in Copenhagen for next month's climate change conference to endorse the unions' call for a 'just transition' to a low carbon world.

Brendan Barber, General Secretary of the TUC, said that workers in the developed and developing worlds were fully behind the shift towards low carbon growth as long as that was achieved without damaging the economy.

The concept of a just transition was included in the draft text by negotiators meeting at the UN-sponsored meeting in Barcelona in November. The text that will go to Copenhagen says a deal must ensure 'just transition of the workforce which creates decent work and quality jobs, while seeking the active participation of all stakeholders'.

Mr Barber told www.actoncopenhagen.gov.uk 'We have been promoting the idea of a just transition: yes, we need to move to a low carbon economy but we need to manage that transition that gives justice and opportunities to people who would otherwise see themselves at risk of being adversely affected.'

He said the current economic model succeeded in creating growth and prosperity but only at the cost of 'destroying our planet in the process'. 'Workers all over the world in developing countries and developed countries know how high the stakes are and know what damage can be done if we don’t reverse the climate change that is currently taking place.'

He urged negotiators who will gather in the Danish capital on 7 December to strike a deal. 'This is a hugely important summit,' he said. 'If Copenhagen fails the consequences could be absolutely disastrous so my challenge to all the players is to make the compromises and moves necessary to enable us to have a successful outcome.'

Related links

Barcelona Climate Change talks report, TUC

Mike Barry - Marks and Spencer

The head of sustainability at UK retailer Marks & Spencer said that businesses understood how complex the upcoming Copenhagen negotiations would be but said that M&S was aware how vital it was to achieve an agreement.

'It is very easy for business to stand here and pontificate and make big asks of government and of ministers going out to Copenhagen,' he said. 'We understand how difficult it is. The negotiations will be complex out there.'

He outlined the four reasons why M&S believed that an agreement was necessary:

• The science indicates that climate change will have a much greater impact on modern, convenient lifestyles than many people have imagined;
• Some 80% of the stores’ 21 million customers say they are looking for leadership on social and environmental  issues from business;
• A deal would bring certainty to the emerging low carbon economy. A lot of the solutions existed but customers and investors are waiting for a positive outcome in Copenhagen; and
• Consistency – companies buying and selling across borders need to know that there will be a 'level playing field where we operate at the same high-level commitments to tackle climate change'.

On its own carbon footprint, Mr Barry said that M&S has reduced its energy use by 12% in the last two years via fewer lorry miles and more efficient use of its stores. He said that M&S launched its sustainability agenda called Plan A almost three years ago that included 29 commitments to tackle climate change. He said this had contributed to a saving of 1% of UK emissions. 'Add it all together and you get 1% of UK emissions so even a shopkeeper can make a big contribution and that is what we are committed to do,' he said.

Addressing politicians going to Copenhagen for the 7 December launch Mr Barry said: 'For these reasons that I have outlined - about the customers, about certainty and about consistency - we want to try to find a solution. We wish you well and we will play our part in driving a low carbon future.'

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