A lot of companies have made a lot of promises, in recent years, regarding their environmental performance. Most of them revolve around a net-zero target, usually by 2050. I have generally been skeptical about these promises – they are often made without any specifics (suggesting these companies do not really know what attaining "net-zero" would actually require). And, of course, the easiest promise from a CEO concerning a high-stakes bet is one where the delivery deadline is well beyond their tenure (or even lifespan). Most CEOs have no qualms about committing some distant successor to a target, especially since they will not be around to be held accountable.
So, where are we with all of these promises? The article in the url below contains some updates and, perhaps unsurprisingly, we are not where we need to be. For example, McDonald's:
"Five years ago McDonald's said it planned to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than a third in parts of its operations by 2030. A few years later, it pledged to be 'net zero' … by 2050. But in its most recent report, McDonald's disclosed that things were moving in the wrong direction: The company's emissions in 2021 were 12 percent higher than its 2015 baseline."
Companies in the restaurant/food industries appear particularly challenged by the promises they themselves made:
"McDonald's is hardly alone. An examination of various climate-related reports and filings for 20 of the world's largest food and restaurant companies reveals that more than half have not made any progress on their emissions reduction goals or have reported rising emissions levels. The bulk of emissions — in many cases more than 90 percent — come from the companies' supply chains. In other words, the cows and wheat used to make burgers and cereal."
There is PepsiCo:
"At PepsiCo, which began setting targets to reduce emissions in 2015, emissions in its supply chain are up 7 percent from its baseline, according to its 2022 climate report."
And Chipotle:
"Chipotle, which set a goal of halving its emissions by 2030, reported a 26 percent surge in supply chain and other emissions in its 2022 report."
How about Starbucks?
"For 2022, for example, Starbucks reported a 12 percent increase in its total emissions from 2019 levels."
Mars appears to be a more positive story, however:
"Mars said it had reduced its total emissions, including its supply chain, by 8 percent from 2015 levels while increasing its revenue 60 percent. The company's goal is to cut its total 2015 emissions by 50 percent by 2030 and to be net zero by 2050."
As Mars' Chief Sustainability Officer puts it, commenting on the performance of its many competitors:
"'We've had five years of companies making promises and being celebrated for the quality of their promises and not their performance.'"
Take care
David
David Chandler
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Emissions are Taking Wrong Turn for Some
By Julie Creswell
September 25, 2023
The New York Times
Late Edition – Final
B1, B3
