Over the past few months, a collaborative partnership formed by the UN Secretary-General, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC), the World Economic Forum, World Bank and the WBCSD, among others, have been preparing a Climate Change Day that, for the first time, will be organised as part of the WEF’s Annual Meeting in Davos.
During this full-day event happening tomorrow (Friday, 24 January) in the World Food Programme tent, more than 20 sessions on various topics related to climate change will be held, including cities, green financing, energy and power plant efficiency, short-lived pollutants and ending deforestation.
The WBCSD’s message to international leaders from the private and public sector will be clear: the time for discussion is over. Society only has time to act, and business has the ability to bring size, scale, innovation and resources to the issue of climate change.
“Profit not philanthropy will drive more companies to do more to drive down emissions, and companies that don’t clean up their acts will feel increasing pressure on their performance and valuation,” says WBCSD CEO and President Peter Bakker.
At the WEF Climate Change Day, the WBCSD will highlight societal targets and business solutions related to climate change, which form a key priority area of its new Action2020 initiative.Action2020 is a science-based plan, led by the WBCSD in collaboration with member companies and leading international organizations, that seeks to engage companies across the globe to implement innovative and scalable business solutions and improve the business case for sustainability.
“We’re asking companies to take bold steps; policymakers should make them too. We can’t afford the alternative,” says Peter Bakker.
Read more on WBCSD at the WEF Climate Change day
Download the WBCSD’s publication on Action2020 climate change business solutions
Download the full WEF Climate Change Day programme
WBCSD and Water.org focus on water security & access to safe water and sanitation
At a high-profile breakfast session tomorrow, the WBCSD will collaborate with Water.org to explore scalable solutions to water security and ways to ensure that the human right to water and sanitation remains a global priority. Participants will include Water.org co-founders Matt Damon and Gary White, PepsiCoCEO Indra Nooyi, Nestlé Chairman Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, along withWBCSD’s COOPeter White and other business leaders.
Water is another key priority area of the WBCSD’s Action2020 initiative. The increasing and competing demands for water use - from agriculture, households, energy generation, industry, ecosystems - create new risks to businesses, governments, communities and the environment. These risks are broad-ranging, from conflicts, natural disaster and food security to financial, reputational, regulatory and operational.
With global demand projected to exceed sustainable supply by 40% in 2030, Action2020 aims to develop new models of cooperation needed to address water security challenges but most importantly, ensure universal access to safe drinking water and sanitation for billions of people that live daily without it.
“Lack of potable water and sanitation represents the largest global health crisis in the world and the cost to global productivity and economic advancement for billions cannot be underestimated,” says WBCSD COO Peter White.
Read more on the WBCSD’s work on water
