| Type | Environmental Charity |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2004 |
| Location | London, UK |
| Area served | International |
| Focus | Climate change |
| Employees | approx. 100 worldwide |
| Members | approx 80 business and government organisations |
| Website | www.theclimategroup.org |
The Climate Group is a non-profit organization that works with business and government to promote clean energy to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions. The organization was created in 2004 and now has offices in the UK (headquarters), the US, Europe, Australia, India, mainland China and Hong Kong. It has 80 members consisting of large companies and governments representing cities, states and geographic regions from around the world, with members representing 15% of global GDP.[1]
The Climate Group says it is one of the world’s first alliances of business and government working to create solutions to climate change.
Solutions pursued by the organization include its technology programs, such as the LED 'Lightsavers' global trial taking place in cities such as New York, Hong Kong and Kolkata;[2] the Climate Principles project, under which financial institutions (including Credit Agricole, HSBC, Standard Chartered, Swiss Re, F&C Asset Management and BNP Paribas) agree to consider climate change when structuring their service and product offerings;[3] the States and Regions Alliance, designed to encourage regional climate change initiatives;[4][5] and publications.[6]
The Climate Group also hosts a range of events such as Climate Week NYC in New York City, a week-long global forum.[7][8]
It has partnered a range of initiatives and reports with organisations including the Global e-Sustainability Initiative (GeSi), International Emissions Trading Association (IETA), the Carbon Disclosure Project, the New York Academy of Sciences, the United Nations Foundation, the German Marshall Fund, The Office of Tony Blair and the World Business Council on Sustainable Development (WBSCD).[9]
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The Climate Group was created in 2004 by ex-CEO and founder Steve Howard[10] to engage major companies and governments to encourage them to take action on climate changes. To join, a company or government must sign the organization's leadership principles. Former UK prime minister Tony Blair has supported the group since launch and has appeared at a number of the organization's events. Since 2004, the organization has grown and now has offices in London, New York, Brussels, Australia, Beijing, Hong Kong and Delhi.
In late 2007, the Climate Group recruited its first India director, who left after only a matter of weeks under circumstances the Group declines to reveal. In 2008, the Group recruited its second India director, Preeti Malhotra, who built operations on the sub-continent to over a dozen staff. By the middle of 2009, India operations were suffering, with only a couple of people still working in the office there.
The consumer engagement campaign Together, which lasted for approximately two years in the UK, was launched in the US in June 2008 in New York.[11] Around six months later, Together ceased to operate in the US.
In 2011, Mark Kenber, previously deputy-CEO, took over from Steve Howard as CEO.[12]
The Climate Group states that it functions independently of any corporate and government entities. It funds its work from a variety of revenue streams. The organization's 2007-2008 Annual Report indicates that over 75% of its funding is from philanthropic donations, foundations and other NGOs, as well as from the philanthropic HSBC Climate Partnership.
Business and government members pay to be members of The Climate Group, and that funding accounts for approximately 20 per cent of the organization's operating budget. Many of its programmes are carried out in partnership with members, whose sponsorship is often the primary source of revenue for those individual programs (such as Together). The Climate Group states that overall strategy is driven by staff - sometimes in consultation with members - and approved by its board, and that there is no link between membership and governance of the organisation.
Funding became a serious problem for The Climate Group's US operations in 2009 following the financial and later economic crisis in the country. As a result, roughly one-third of its US staff were laid off - including the director of north American operations - and a number of other cost-cutting measures implemented.
In 2007, HSBC announced that The Climate Group, along with WWF, Earthwatch, and the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, would be a partner in the HSBC Climate Partnership, and donated US$100 million to fund joint work - the largest-ever single corporate philanthropic donation to the environment.[13] The results of this program can be seen in HSBC’s 2010 Partnership Review,[14] and HSBC’s Clean Cities film of December 2010. The Clean Cities film specifically outlines some of The Climate Group’s achievements enabled by this program, including LED pilots in New York, clean technology finance in Mumbai, consumer campaigns in London and cutting employee carbon footprints in Hong Kong.
As of December 2010, The Climate Group coalition included 80 of the world's largest companies and governments. It also works with a variety of associate members and partner organisations on initiatives such as The Climate Principles, The Aviation Global Deal Group and Breaking the Climate Deadlock.
The Climate Group publishes several research reports including the following.
The Climate Group spearheads and supports a growing number of what it says are game-changing initiatives. They include:
The Climate Group works with its government and business partners to demonstrate low emissions technologies with the goal of accelerating the ‘scale up’ of these technologies until they are widespread. Technology programs include:[20]
The Climate Group’s States and Regions Alliance is underpinned by a recognition of the important role that sub-national governments are playing in tackling climate change on the ground. The UN Development Program estimates that 50-80% of actions required to take limit global temperature rises to two degrees will need to arise from sub-national levels of government.[21] The Climate Group argues that while global negotiations continue to prove difficult, its State and Regions Alliance members, as well as other subnational governments, will play an essential role in building a global climate change deal from the bottom-up.[22] Updates on developments in sub-national government climate policies and low emissions technology programs across the globe are maintained on The Climate Group’s website.
Through its States and Regions program, The Climate Group brings heads of sub-national governments together in events such as Cancun’s China Day and Climate Leaders Summit 2010.[23] Agreed statements arising from these events, signed by the organization’s members, include the Copenhagen Statement of 2009 and the Cancun Statement of 2010.[24] The States and Regions program also facilitates partnerships between developed and developing nation sub-national governments, giving rise to projects such as assessment of regional vulnerability to climate change impacts.[25]
The Climate Group also runs specific initiatives separate from its ongoing project streams. These projects include:
Previous projects include: