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Over a third of tech firms join Race to Zero campaign

Over a third of tech firms join Race to Zero campaign

  • The ICT sector has surpassed its climate breakthrough challenge target
  • 40% by revenue of major ICT companies have now joined the Race to Zero
  • Momentum continues with new commitments from Adobe and Oracle confirmed today

The Race to Zero campaign today confirmed that 40% of global tech firms have signed up to its rigorous campaign.

The announcement coincides with the start of London Tech Week and New York Climate Week ahead of the crucial UNFCCC’s COP26 negotiations in November.

The UN-backed campaign is the largest global alliance of organisations committed to net zero emissions by 2050 with businesses, regions, cities, universities, and investors making this commitment.

The announcement today means that the sector has exceeded the UNFCCC’s “breakthrough challenge” for the sector – the point where a crucial mass of key actors in the sector commits to meaningful climate action, enabling them to break away from the business-as-usual path and together deliver breakthrough outcomes at pace.

Julian David, Chief Executive of techUK, said: “This is hugely exciting to see ahead of this year’s crucial climate negotiations in Glasgow and there is no sign that momentum will slow. Business as usual will soon become an outlier position.”

Nigel Topping, UN High Level Climate Champion for COP26, said: "The tech sector has shown itself as a leader in setting ambitious targets to accelerate progress towards achieving the Paris Agreement. I am delighted that 40% of the sector by revenue has now joined the Race to Zero, with businesses driving change through renewable energy uptake in their operations and through their supply chains. This is what the new normal looks like."

The momentum continues to build, with announcements from software giants Adobe and Oracle that they too have signed up to the Race to Zero today.

Paul Robson, President of International at Adobe, said: “Race to Zero recognises the critical role businesses play in embracing sustainable practices as we move toward a zero-waste future. Adobe is committed to powering 100 percent of our global operations with renewable energy by 2035, 70 percent which is achievable by 2022. Today, we’re proud to announce our participation in the Race to Zero campaign as part of the commitments we made through the Science Based Targets initiative.”

Jon Chorley, Oracle’s Chief Sustainability Officer and Group Vice President, Supply Chain Management (SCM), said: "In response to the scale and urgency of the climate crisis, in June this year we announced our goal to power our global operations and datacenters with 100 percent renewable energy by 2025, achieving carbon neutrality for our Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions,” said “We are now looking to our future goals, and joining the Exponential Roadmap Initiative and the UN Race to Zero will play a pivotal role in our mission to accelerate climate solutions. We are also going beyond our 2025 goals, and setting a target to reach net-zero GHG emissions across Scopes 1, 2 and 3 by 2050 and halve our global emissions by 50 percent by 2030.”

There’s also been significant progress within the tech sector’s scale-up community. The Tech Zero taskforce is led by green energy company Bulb working alongside industry body Tech Nation. Its founding members are 15 fast-growing British tech firms, and more than 150 tech companies of all sizes joined and made ambitious climate commitments. Tech Zero is an official partner to the UN Race to Zero.

Hayden Wood, Co-founder and CEO of Bulb and leader of the Tech Zero taskforce, said: “Tech companies of all sizes are taking credible climate action now. With six weeks until COP26, we’d like even more businesses to join us. Working together means we can make progress faster so if you’re already well on the way to net zero, join Tech Zero to help companies who are starting out. And if you want to take climate action, sign up and we’ll help you get started.”

Notes to Editors

  • Race to Zero is the UN-backed global campaign rallying non-state actors – including companies, cities, regions, financial and educational institutions – to take rigorous and immediate action to halve global emissions by 2030 and deliver a healthier, fairer zero carbon world in time. All members are committed to the same overarching goal: reducing emissions across all scopes swiftly and fairly in line with the Paris Agreement, with transparent action plans and robust near-term targets.
  • Race to Zero Breakthroughs  sets out the specific, near-term tipping points for more than 20 sectors that make up the global economy, forming a master plan around which business, governments, and civil society can unite ahead of COP26. Collectively, they articulate what key actors must do, and by when, to deliver the sectoral changes needed to achieve a resilient, zero carbon future by 2050 at the latest.
  • Tech Zero is a group of tech companies committed to climate action. Tech Zero was started in the UK by a group of leading tech companies that are working together to make faster progress to net zero.
Channel website: http://www.techuk.org/

Original article link: https://www.techuk.org/resource/over-a-third-of-tech-firms-join-race-to-zero-campaign.html

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