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also with business leaders, who play an integral role in the race to net zero. Recognising this, COP26 selected 11 companies across a range of different sectors as its principal partners, including Unilever, Sky, Sainsburys, NatWest Group and GSK. These partnerships are significant not only for the insights they offered at the conference itself, but also for the opportunities they present for businesses to show their commitment to sustainability initiatives – a vital role given many companies are still failing to do enough to reduce their impact on the planet.
Research published by global asset management company Arabesque earlier this year found that just under one-quarter (24.84%) of companies listed on the world’s 14 largest stock indexes between 2015 and 2019 were aligned with the Paris Agreement’s goal to limit global warming to 1.5ºC, as adopted at COP21 in 2015.
GSK was announced as a principal partner in June 2021, strengthening the company’s existing sustainability goals. After all, the pharmaceutical giant had already committed to having a net-zero impact on climate and net-positive impact on nature by 2030. In a press release announcing the partnership, Emma Walmsley, GSK’s chief executive, put it like this: “We strongly believe that COP26 must accelerate global actions and collaborations to protect climate, nature and health and we are delighted to support the UK government with [its] ambitions for a successful COP26.” Claire Lund, the company’s head of sustainability, echoes this view. “We […] want to refocus attention among key stakeholders on the 1.5ºC pathway to minimise the impact to both the planet and people,” she says.
Speaking two months before the conference, Lund explained that GSK is “working closely with the COP26 team and the UK government to develop climate and health-focused conversations in the run up to and at the Glasgow meeting”. It’s a view she reiterates now. “We will share updates in support of COP26 and our sustainability targets, as well as work with other health organisations to improve understanding and measurement of the impacts of climate change and nature loss on health.”
Ahead of the conference, Lund said that GSK has “stepped up” its ambitions to reduce its impact on the planet, “embed sustainability” into the business and “drive a net positive impact” as part of ‘New GSK’, “the new form of the company following the separation of our consumer healthcare business expected next year”. Certainly, GSK seems to be walking the walk.
Its achievements include generating 68% of its global electricity from renewable sources, joining the global EV100 initiative to accelerate the use of
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electric vehicles within the company’s sales fleet, and advancing the use of low-carbon and low- emission inhalers.
On the green path
Many businesses were already mobilising in the run up to COP26: ahead of the summit, nearly half of FTSE100 companies – including GSK, Sainsbury’s and Unilever – had joined the UN’s Race to Zero campaign, a global pledge to eliminate carbon emissions by 2050. As of September 2021, 47 companies were part of the scheme, representing over half the index’s value.
“We […] want to refocus attention among key stakeholders on the 1.5ºC pathway to minimise the impact to both the planet and people.”
Some businesses have even exceeded this goal. Indeed, as Lund explains, in November 2020 GSK “made a step change” in its environmental policy that not only matched but actually beat the UK government’s targets. “By 2030, New GSK will have a net-zero impact on climate and a net-positive impact on nature, across [the] entire value chain,” she says, adding that GSK has also been accredited for 1.5°C-aligned emissions reduction targets by the Science Based Targets initiative. To encourage other multinationals to follow suit, the government has sought to support both small and large businesses in adopting a zero-emissions strategy. In May 2021, for example, the prime minister launched the ‘Together for our Planet’ campaign, calling on SMEs “to lead the charge to net zero” by halving emissions by 2030 and eliminating them altogether by 2050. The initiative aims to provide resources for small businesses, making it easier for them to reduce waste and energy usage.
With climate protests taking place around the world, businesses and governments are under growing pressure to act.
24.84%
Companies listed on the world’s 14 largest stock indexes between 2015–19 that aligned with the Paris Agreement’s goal to limit global warming to 1.5ºC.
Arabesque 21
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