By Sophia McNab, Education Officer, ShareAction
12 May 2015
BT has done it. IKEA has done it. H&M and Philips have done it. Around the world, giant corporations are joining the clean energy revolution by committing to make sure the energy they use is 100% renewable. Great news! And now it’s time to take this challenge to the boardrooms of more major companies.
This year, our AGM Army is on a new mission to get FTSE100 companies to join the Renewable Energy 100.
The RE 100 is a project convened by The Climate Group and a network of companies who have publicly committed to source all their electricity from 100% renewable sources. They don’t have to switch straightaway, but set a deadline for doing so, and ideally some milestones along the way.
Switching to renewable energy is a smart business decision for big companies. It can provide energy security, help manage fluctuating energy costs and improve a company’s reputation. And the impact doesn’t stop there; it sends a strong signal to fossil fuel companies and utility companies that they can’t rely on corporate demand for their high-carbon energy in the long term.
Some companies are going further than switching to a renewable energy tariff. They are investing in their own renewable energy production – like IKEA which owns 224 wind turbines and 700,000 solar panels! They’re aiming to be energy independent by 2020, meaning the company will produce more renewable energy than it consumes.
15 companies around the world have joined the RE 100 initiative. But so far, just two of these are in the FTSE100; telecoms giant BT, and multinational publishing and information company Reed Elsevier. The AGM Army wants to turn that trickle into a wave of renewable energy commitments!
AGM Army members have taken the RE100 mission in their stride – so far they’ve already asked 10 companies to join the RE100:
• Cat attended the first AGM of the season and challenged software giant Sage.
• Liz asked Smith & Nephew and has since followed up with an email to the CEO.
• Ian asked ARM Holdings and snapped a selfie with a board member!
• Mark asked Aviva, who replied they will be announcing a package of new sustainability policies in the coming months (watch this space!).
• Anne-Marie asked shipping company Carnival and secured another CEO selfie.
• Rebecca had a discussion with the CEO of Astrazeneca about the benefits of renewable energy.
• Jamie challenged Pearson and is hoping to line up a follow-up meeting with the Director of CSR.
• Catherine asked HSBC…
• …and Schroders!
• And I posed the question to Unilever who are due to announce their renewable energy commitments imminently!
Thanks Sophia! We’re always on the look-out for new recruits to our AGM Army. If you’d like to challenge a company to switch to 100% renewable energy get in touch with our Shareholder Activism Coordinator Liz at liz.sowden@shareaction.org.