Ten major companies are signing up to ambitious commitments on smarter energy use today, including China’s Changzhou New Wide – a textile manufacturer and supplier to major international brands including adidas, Anta, Decathlon, Lululemon, PVH, and Walmart.
The commitments are being made during Climate Week NYC – the time and place where the world gathers to showcase amazing climate action and discuss how to do more.
Recognizing that energy efficiency cuts carbon and boosts the bottom line, they join 100+ businesses in EP100, a global initiative led by the international non-profit organization the Climate Group in partnership with the Alliance to Save Energy, for leading companies committed to ‘doing more with less energy’. Together, EP100 members have a combined revenue of US$528 billion and 1.9 million employees in over 130 markets worldwide.
Also joining EP100 today is Japan’s Daito Trust Construction, pledging to double its energy productivity by 2030 from 2017.
There are also eight companies* from the US, UK and Ireland, including infrastructure professional services firm AECOM UK and one of the world’s largest architectural firms Skidmore, Owings and Merril, signing up to the World Green Building Council’s Net Zero Carbon Buildings commitment, as part of EP100. This requires all assets they own, occupy and or develop to operate at net zero carbon by 2030, or earlier.
Energy efficiency is one of the most attractive forms of economic stimulus – improving millions of buildings creates hundreds of thousands of new green collar jobs. The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that measures to improve the efficiency of buildings and appliances could be implemented quickly, in some cases have very short payback periods and would create 10-15 jobs per million dollars invested.
Helen Clarkson, CEO, the Climate Group – organizers of Climate Week NYC, said, “Companies must help deliver a green recovery from COVID-19. Energy-smart companies are getting ahead now, lowering their energy bills and increasing their competitiveness, while lowering emissions across the built environment.”
She added, “But we need to go so much faster – science says we need to halve global emissions by 2030, and energy efficiency is key to getting this done. Companies up and down supply chains should seize this fantastic business opportunity.”
Changzhou New Wide, the first Chinese textile business to join EP100, has already implemented an energy management system and is now committing to improve its energy productivity by 15% by 2030 (2015 baseline). The company has to date implented a number of smart energy measures including the installation of energy efficient textile manufacturing equipment with automated heat recovery.
Sunny Huang, Executive Director, New Wide Group, said, “Climate change is the most urgent challenge the world faces. As a key link in the global textile value chain, it is our honor to sign up to EP100 and champion energy efficiency. Great minds think alike – sustainability is a journey, not only for us, but for our future generations.”
