SAN FRANCISCO CA- March 1, 2007 -The United Nations Global Compact, the City of San Francisco, the Bay Area Council and a wide array of Bay Area businesses today launched a unique partnership designed to provide meaningful actions that businesses and cities around the world can take to combat global warming.

The initiative "“ the Principles on Climate Leadership "“ will give Bay Area businesses a strategic framework to address climate change as well as a forum to share best practices to reduce greenhouse gasses in both large and small companies. In addition, the initiative will create a model for climate action in the commercial and public sectors that the United Nations Global Compact will seek to place in companies and cities around the world.

More the 20 companies from a variety of sectors "“ including Gap Inc., Gensler, Google, PG&E and Shaklee "“ officially endorsed the Principles and, in relation, announced the Business Council on Climate Change ("BC3") at a special event in San Francisco "“ the city that gave birth to the United Nations with the signing of the UN Charter in 1945.

The event was attended by San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom and regional leaders from business, government and civil society.

"Voluntary initiatives such as the BC3 and the Principles on Climate Leadership will be crucial in bringing about progressive and robust action on the global climate crisis," said Georg Kell, Executive Director of the UN Global Compact. "At the same time, it is important to keep in mind that voluntary action cannot be a substitute for effective regulation "“ rather, it informs and complements regulation."

The launch of the initiative follows by only several months the passage of AB 32 by the State of California, the nation’s most aggressive climate legislation.

"Local actions can have a positive effect on the entire planet," observed San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom. "The Bay Area is fortunate to have a visionary business community that is willing to get out in front of a daunting issue like global warming, and we are honored that the United Nations Global Compact will be working to bring this message to other communities and companies around the world."

BC3 member companies pledge to address greenhouse emissions throughout their operations and corporate cultures, and agree to follow the BC3’s five Principles on Climate Leadership: Internal Implementation, Community Leadership, Advocacy and Dialogue, Collective Action, Transparency and Disclosure.

"The Bay Area Council has been an environmental leader for decades, but this may be one of our most ambitious projects ever," said Jim Wunderman, President of the Bay Area Council, the area's largest business association. "We, and our business community members, are proud to help focus the region’s entrepreneurial spirit and ingenuity on an issue so critical to our economic future."

The United Nations Global Compact will showcase the BC3 initiative and the core Principles of Climate Leadership at its Leaders Summit on 5-6 July 2007 in Geneva, Switzerland "“ an event that will draw nearly 1000 business and government leaders as well as representatives of civil society from around the world. Addressing climate change will be a priority topic at the Leaders Summit.

Founding members of the BC3 comprise a diverse range of companies, including: 3 Phases Energy; AccessFlow; ARUP; CH2M Hill; Clif Bar; EcoAdvantage Network; Food from the Park; Gap Inc.; Gensler; Google; Green Impact; Green Squared Consulting; Hallisey & Johnson; HOK; New Resource Bank; Organic Architect; PG&E; Ponderosa Homes; Shaklee; SMWM Architecture; Solutions; Swinerton; Waldeck's; Webcor; Wendel, Rosen, Black and Dean; and William McDonough + Partners.

For further information, please contact Matthias Stausberg, UN Global Compact, stausberg@un.org; or 917-367-3423.

Editor’s Note: The Principles on Climate Leadership follow.

PRINCIPLES ON CLIMATE LEADERSHIP

The Business Council on Climate Change (BC3) believes that the climate crisis offers corporate leaders an unprecedented opportunity to shift practices to realize economic growth, environmental sustainability, and social well-being. Our mission is to capitalize on the Bay Area’s entrepreneurial culture to create a thriving economy, while at the same time contributing to public dialogue and positive action on climate change. Therefore, we commit to the following principles:

PRINCIPLE ONE: INTERNAL IMPLEMENTATION

We acknowledge our responsibility to reduce our impact on climate change and adopt practices within our company’s operations to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and contribute to a climate-friendly San Francisco Bay Area economy.
Potential Actions include:

United Nations Global Compact

United Nations Global Compact

As the world's largest corporate sustainability initiative, the United Nations Global Compact is a call to companies everywhere to align their operations and strategies with Ten Principles in the areas of human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption. Our ambition is to accelerate and scale the global collective impact of business by upholding the Ten Principles and delivering the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through accountable companies and ecosystems that enable change. With the UN Global Compact, committed companies achieve sustainable value by delivering measurable impact to the world’s most pressing challenges. 

More from United Nations Global Compact