THE BUSINESS END OF CLIMATE CHANGE

The report estimates that if five analyzed business initiatives achieve their most ambitious plans, they could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 3.2-4.2 billion tonnes per year by 2030. If all relevant companies joined these initiatives, reductions could reach approximately 10 billion tonnes. The document emphasizes that achieving this systemic impact requires governments to remove regulatory barriers and provide incentives, such as carbon pricing and R&D support, to create a virtuous circle of ambition between the public and private sectors.

• If the five analyzed initiatives achieve their most ambitious plans, business-determined contributions could reduce emissions by 3.2-4.2 billion tonnes per year by 2030, which is equivalent to 7-9% of global emissions from 2010.
• A 'systemic impact' scenario, where every relevant business joins the initiatives, could result in emissions cuts of approximately 10 billion tonnes of greenhouse gases by 2030, helping to close the gap toward the 42 billion tonne limit required to keep global warming below 2°C.
• The Science Based Targets initiative alone could provide a direct impact of 1.9 billion tonnes and a systemic impact of 5.0 billion tonnes of reductions by 2030.
• The RE100 initiative, which encourages companies to use 100% renewable electricity, is estimated to have a direct impact of 1.2-1.5 billion tonnes and a systemic impact of 4.5-5.7 billion tonnes by 2030.
• The Low Carbon Technology Partnership initiative (LCTPi) could achieve a systemic impact of 9-10 billion tonnes below current trends, with the largest contributions coming from renewables (5 GtCO2e) and climate smart agriculture (3.7 GtCO2e).
• The Zero Deforestation initiative could reduce emissions by 0.5-1.2 billion tonnes (direct) or 0.7-1.5 billion tonnes (systemic) by 2030, potentially wiping out emissions from deforestation in beef, timber, and palm oil exports.
• The EP100 initiative, focusing on doubling energy productivity, is estimated to have a direct impact of 0.3 billion tonnes and a systemic impact of 2.4 billion tonnes by 2030.
• Corporate climate action is often hindered by regulatory barriers, such as regulations that prevent shifts to lower-emissions supply chains or a lack of commercial incentives for utilities to offer renewable energy contracts.
• To accelerate business action, the report recommends that governments implement consistent carbon pricing, support R&D for low-carbon technologies, and streamline certification for sustainable commodities.

APA

Höhne, N., Kuramochi, T., Sterl, S., & Gonzales-Zuñiga, S. (2016). THE BUSINESS END OF CLIMATE CHANGE. We Mean Business Coalition. https://www.wemeanbusinesscoalition.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/The-Business-End-of-Climate-Change_1.pdf

Chicago

Höhne, Niklas, Takeshi Kuramochi, Sebastian Sterl, and Sofia Gonzales-Zuñiga. THE BUSINESS END OF CLIMATE CHANGE. We Mean Business Coalition, 2016. https://www.wemeanbusinesscoalition.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/The-Business-End-of-Climate-Change_1.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Höhne |first1=Niklas |last2=Kuramochi |first2=Takeshi |last3=Sterl |first3=Sebastian |last4=Gonzales-Zuñiga |first4=Sofia |title=THE BUSINESS END OF CLIMATE CHANGE |publisher=We Mean Business Coalition |date=2016 |url=https://www.wemeanbusinesscoalition.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/The-Business-End-of-Climate-Change_1.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{hhne2016business, author = {Höhne, Niklas and Kuramochi, Takeshi and Sterl, Sebastian and Gonzales-Zuñiga, Sofia}, title = {{THE BUSINESS END OF CLIMATE CHANGE}}, institution = {We Mean Business Coalition}, year = {2016}, url = {https://www.wemeanbusinesscoalition.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/The-Business-End-of-Climate-Change_1.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }