2, June 2008

BT plans big CO2 cuts

BT has announced today it will cut its carbon emissions intensity by 80 per cent across the globe by 2020, setting one of the most aggressive corporate carbon reduction targets worldwide.

The company has also published a new model for measuring and tracking carbon emissions - backed by the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP).

Jonathon Porritt, founder director of Forum for the Future and chairman of BT’s advisory panel, said: “This is a ground-breaking new way of setting targets. If all companies adopted such a target we would be a long way towards fixing the problem of climate change.”

BT chairman Mike Rake said: “BT has a proud history of international leadership in carbon reduction and of setting and achieving challenging targets.

“We are delighted to raise the bar by extending these commitments to cover our entire global footprint, across more than 170 countries worldwide.”

The new model has been developed by Chris Tuppen, BT’s director of sustainable development.

Chris said: “It is imperative that we stabilise the climate. At BT we recognise that it is our responsibility to grow in a sustainable way.

“The climate stabilisation intensity (CSI) target creates a relationship between BT’s CO2 emissions and its financial performance so that they become interdependent. It is a powerful tool for embedding sustainability into organisations worldwide and critical in effecting change.”

The CSI target links a company’s financial and environmental performance to the necessary CO2 reductions and is fully in line with the worldwide reduction imperatives outlined in the Stern Report and reports by the United Nations intergovernmental panel on climate change (IPCC).

The CDP is an independent not-for-profit organisation that aims to create a lasting relationship between shareholders and corporations regarding the implications of climate change for shareholder value and commercial operations.

CDP chief executive Paul Dickinson said: “BT is leading the way on emissions reductions and, in launching a strategy which allows a company to grow whilst reducing carbon emissions, BT is setting an example which we hope other corporations will follow.”

BT intends to meet the 80 per cent reduction target through a continued combination of energy efficiency, on-site renewable generation and the purchase of low-carbon electricity.

BT has already reduced emissions in the UK by nearly 60 per cent between 1996 and 2008.