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(San Francisco, 1 March 2007) - The United Nations Global Compact, the City
of San Francisco, the Bay Area Council and a wide array of Bay Area businesses
today launched a unique partnership designed to provide meaningful actions that
businesses and cities around the world can take to combat global warming.
The initiative - the Principles on Climate Leadership - will
give Bay Area businesses a strategic framework to address climate change as well
as a forum to share best practices to reduce greenhouse gasses in both large and
small companies. In addition, the initiative will create a model for climate
action in the commercial and public sectors that the UN Global Compact will seek
to place in companies and cities around the world.
More the 20 companies from a variety of sectors, including Gap
Inc., Gensler, Google, PG&E and Shaklee, officially endorsed the Principles
and, in relation, announced the Business Council on Climate Change (BC3) at a
special event in San Francisco - the city that gave birth to the United
Nations with the signing of the UN Charter in 1945. More than 100 leaders from
business, government and civil society attended the event, which was presided
over by San Francisco Mayor Gavin
Newsom.
"Voluntary initiatives such as the
BC3 and the Principles on Climate Leadership will be crucial in bringing about
progressive and robust action on the global climate crisis", said Georg Kell,
Executive Director of the UN Global Compact. "At the same time, it is important
to keep in mind that voluntary action cannot be a substitute for effective
regulation - rather, it informs and complements
regulation".
"Local actions can have a positive effect on the
entire planet," observed San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom. "The Bay Area
is fortunate to have a visionary business community that is willing to get out
in front of a daunting issue like global warming, and we are honored that the
United Nations Global Compact will be working to bring this message to other
communities and companies around the world."
BC3 member companies
pledge to address greenhouse emissions throughout their operations and corporate
cultures, and agree to follow the five Principles on Climate Leadership:
Internal Implementation, Community Leadership, Advocacy and Dialogue, Collective
Action, Transparency and Disclosure.
"The Bay Area
Council has been an environmental leader for decades, but this may be one of our
most ambitious projects ever," said Jim Wunderman, President of the Bay Area
Council, the area's largest business association. "We, and our business
community members, are proud to help focus the region's entrepreneurial spirit
and ingenuity on an issue so critical to our economic future."
The
United Nations Global Compact will showcase the BC3 initiative and the core
Principles on Climate Leadership at its Leaders Summit on 5-6 July 2007 in
Geneva, Switzerland - an event that is expected to draw nearly 1000
business and government leaders as well as representatives of civil society from
around the world. Addressing climate change will be a priority topic at the
Leaders
Summit.
Founding members of the BC3 comprise a diverse range of companies,
including: 3 Phases Energy; AccessFlow; ARUP; CH2M Hill; Clif Bar; EcoAdvantage
Network; Food from the Park; Gap Inc.; Gensler; Google; Green Impact; Green
Squared Consulting; Hallisey & Johnson; HOK; New Resource Bank; Organic
Architect; PG&E; Ponderosa Homes; Shaklee; SMWM Architecture; Solutions;
Swinerton; Waldeck?s; Webcor; Wendel, Rosen, Black and Dean; and William
McDonough + Partners.
For further information, please contact Mr
Gavin Power, Senior Advisor, UN Global Compact: powerg@un.org.
Please click here to access the Principles on Climate
Leadership
