Like States, many multinationals have undertaken to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions in order to do their part in the fight against global warming. Under pressure from their investors, many of them have promised to achieve carbon neutrality – by 2030, 2040 or 2050, depending on the case. However, according to a study (link in English) published Monday, February 7 by the New Climate Institute, and covering 25 large companies – including Amazon, Ikea, Apple, Nestlé and Unilever – these promises do not translate into action. According to this work, the multinationals studied are moving towards a reduction in their greenhouse gas emissions by 40% and not 100%, as planned in their commitments, summarizes The Guardian.
By 2030, these companies should have reduced their emissions by 23%, an ambition almost halved compared to the promises, continues the British daily.
The study also recalls that more than 3,000 companies were committed, in January 2022, to achieving carbon neutrality, double the previous year.
To judge the companies, the German institute relied on several criteria such as their ambitions, the amount of carbon offsetting planned, the reliability of these offsetting efforts, their progress in reducing their emissions, as well as transparency. of the company vis-à-vis the results of these policies. Out of 25 multinationals, none of them has reached a level “high integrity”, according to the institute. Eleven of them even display a level of“very low integrity”, including Amazon, Ikea and Nestlé.
Thomas Day, who compiled this information on behalf of the institute, regretted that companies mainly focus their climate policy on carbon offsetting, a controversial practice which consists in preparing the conditions for the absorption of emissions via projects – by example by planting trees – rather than reducing their emissions at source, he explained to the Guardian. “Companies should not declare themselves carbon neutral by 2030 unless they reduce their emissions by 90%”he said, denouncing unreliable offset projects: “if they insist on offsetting, they should then use more honest carbon credits”he told the British daily.
For their part, the companies approached by the Guardian have questioned the “inaccuracies” in the methodology of the New climate institute. “Our climate roadmap has been validated by the Science Based Targets initiative”a partnership between several international institutions, recalled a Nestlé spokesperson, while an Ikea official highlighted the progress made and its ongoing efforts to reduce “the carbon footprint of the materials used in the Ikea range.”