DEVELOPMENT
and Ségolène Royal, French Minister of Environment, Energy & Marine Affairs and President of COP21 recognize, as they demonstrated at the same summit, that crucial focus points include“ strong sectorial avenues and roadmaps”, the price on carbon, as well as disclosure and transparency. The minister pointed out how climate change is not just a risk but an“ opportunity to be among the first to drive innovation and transformation toward a low carbon economy.” The SDGs are already providing direction in this regard and scaling up innovative ideas and companies in this sense is a must. Aron Cramer, CEO of BSR, also emphasized during the Business & Climate Summit in London,“ climate change is not tomorrow’ s issue anymore, it is today’ s reality.” He referred to a recently launched report“ What The Paris Agreement Means for Business” from We Mean Business which says businesses could help meet over 60 % of the emissions cuts pledged by nations in Paris if they focus on five key climate action initiatives including‘ Science Based Targets’, zero deforestation, and‘ EP100’ which is run by The Climate Group and the Low Carbon Technology Partnership Initiative.
Since COP21, a page in history has turned and companies, nations, and industries are embarking on a new journey. And more and more businesses are aiming towards a new destination. For instance, Nespresso has launched its 2020 sustainability ambition, The Positive Cup, and the Nespresso Sustainable Development Fund, based on an investment of CHF 500 million over the next six years. Unilever is striving to not merely become CO2 neutral by 2030, but be CO2 positive. In addition to its venture fund of 200 million, Unilever recently announced their commitment to increase its use of crowdsourcing, with the launch of its Unilever Foundry IDEAS which enables innovative startups that are ready to scale up to partner with Unilever and its 400 brands in over 190 countries. DSM Coating aims to see bio-based binders as the worldwide norm by 2030. The global player Interface has just formulated their post-2020 ambitions in a similarly spectacular way as they did a decade ago: one of positive impact. And the list goes on. With the recognition that enormous challenges require enormous efforts, Unilever and the Global Commission on
Business and Sustainable Development( GCBSD) have launched a commission that aims to highlight the significant rewards awaiting companies that take a lead in poverty reduction and sustainable development.“ We have an opportunity to unlock trillions of dollars through new markets, investments and innovation— but to do so, we must challenge our current practices and address poverty, inequality and environmental challenges,” said Polman in a statement.“ Every business will benefit from operating in a more equitable, resilient world if we achieve the SDGs. I am optimistic to see that new forms of collaboration are being created and are growing.” Apart from the crucial impact from multinationals, it is equally important to note that the most radical solutions, often with disruptive impact at a fast pace are attributed to small innovative start-ups However, those value-creating start-ups often do not scale up as they should, whereas the world desperately needs their solutions. They need and deserve our support, and the support of large, multinational corporations, to rapidly scale up their innovative and highly effective disruptive solutions. Corporate Venture Capital from ambitious corporations
68