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| Founded | 2008 |
|---|---|
| Type | Public policy |
| Location |
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| Website | www.ceres.org/bicep |
Business for Innovative Climate and Energy Policy (BICEP) is a coalition of businesses coordinated by Ceres whose primary goal is to call on the U.S. government to pass broad, bi-partisan energy and climate legislation. BICEP currently has 48 members. [1]
BICEP, a project of Ceres, was founded in November 2008 and is an advocacy coalition of businesses committed to working with policy makers to pass meaningful energy and climate legislation and giving consumer-facing businesses a stronger voice in the formation of progressive climate change legislation. The founding members of BICEP saw a need to form the new coalition, rather than joining other established organizations, such as the U.S. Climate Action Partnership, whose members tend to be larger emitters with different needs than many consumer companies face. [2]
BICEP was founded on the belief that the energy and climate challenges facing the United States present vast opportunities, along with urgent risks, for U.S. businesses. A rapid transition to a 21st-century, low-carbon economy will create new jobs and stimulate economic growth while stabilizing the planet's fragile climate. BICEP's members are primarily consumer companies that are not major greenhouse gas emitters, but will nevertheless be impacted by climate regulations and other climate-related impacts. BICEP members believe that climate change will impact all sectors of the economy and that various business perspectives are needed to provide a full spectrum of viewpoints for solving the climate and energy challenges facing America. [3]
BICEP's goal is to work directly with key allies in the business community and with members of Congress to promote a broad, bi-partisan consensus among policy makers to reduce US greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050, with an interim goal of at least 25 percent below 1990 levels by 2020. They recognize the multiple paths to accomplishing this goal and therefore stand behind the following principles in the development of U.S. energy and climate policy: [4]
Principles
Essential Policy Elements
BICEP members believe that the recent economic crisis and the looming threat of global warming together present a profound opportunity for U.S. businesses, and that the bold steps are needed to restore the US economy are closely related to actions needed to solve the climate crisis. They believe that a rapid transition to a 21st-century low-carbon economy will create new jobs and stimulate economic growth while stabilizing the Earth's climate. [5]
BICEP currently consists of 48 member companies. The four founding members are Starbucks, Nike, Timberland and Levi Strauss & Co. Since then, BICEP has added 44 more companies, including: Adobe, Annie's Homegrown, Aspen Skiing Company, Autodesk, Aveda, Ben and Jerry's, Burton Snowboards, CA Technologies, Clif Bar & Company, Dignity Health, eBay, Eileen Fisher, Etsy, Fetzer Vineyards, Gap Inc., General Mills, Hackensack Meridian Health, IKEA, Jones Lang LaSalle, KB Home, Kellogg, Limited Brands, [6] L'Oréal, Mars, Inc., Nature's Path Foods, Nestle, New Belgium Brewing, [7] The North Face, Outdoor Industry Association, San Francisco International Airport, Owens Corning, Patagonia, Portland Trail Blazers, Salesforce, Seventh Generation Inc., Sierra Nevada Brewing, Stonyfield Farm, Symantec Corporation, Unilever, Vail Resorts, VF Corporation, Vulcan Inc., and Worthen Industries. [8] [9] [10]
A green economy is an economy that aims at reducing environmental risks and ecological scarcities, and that aims for sustainable development without degrading the environment. It is closely related with ecological economics, but has a more politically applied focus. The 2011 UNEP Green Economy Report argues "that to be green, an economy must not only be efficient, but also fair. Fairness implies recognizing global and country level equity dimensions, particularly in assuring a Just Transition to an economy that is low-carbon, resource efficient, and socially inclusive."
Energy policy is the manner in which a given entity has decided to address issues of energy development including energy conversion, distribution and use as well as reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in order to contribute to climate change mitigation. The attributes of energy policy may include legislation, international treaties, incentives to investment, guidelines for energy conservation, taxation and other public policy techniques. Energy is a core component of modern economies. A functioning economy requires not only labor and capital but also energy, for manufacturing processes, transportation, communication, agriculture, and more. Energy planning is more detailed than energy policy.
The American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity is a U.S. non-profit advocacy group representing major American coal producers, utility companies and railroads. The organization seeks to influence public opinion and legislation in favor of coal-generated electricity in the United States, placing emphasis on the development and deployment of clean coal technologies.
A sustainable business, or a green business, is an enterprise that has a minimal negative impact or potentially a positive effect on the global or local environment, community, society, or economy—a business that strives to meet the triple bottom line. They cluster under different groupings and the whole is sometimes referred to as "green capitalism." Often, sustainable businesses have progressive environmental and human rights policies. In general, a business is described as green if it matches the following four criteria:
The Climate Group is a non-profit organisation that works with businesses and government leaders aiming to address climate change. The Group has programmes focusing on renewable energy and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
The Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (C2ES) is an environmental nonprofit organization based in Arlington, Virginia. Launched in 2011, C2ES is the successor to the Pew Center on Global Climate Change. C2ES works closely with policymakers and stakeholders to promote pragmatic, effective policies at the state, national, and international levels.
Business action on climate change includes a range of activities relating to climate change, and to influencing political decisions on climate change-related regulation, such as the Kyoto Protocol. Major multinationals have played and to some extent continue to play a significant role in the politics of climate change, especially in the United States, through lobbying of government and funding of climate change deniers. Business also plays a key role in the mitigation of climate change, through decisions to invest in researching and implementing new energy technologies and energy efficiency measures.
Clif Bar & Company is an American company that produces energy foods and drinks. The company's flagship product, CLIF Bar, was created by Gary Erickson and Lisa Thomas. The company is based in Emeryville, California and was privately held until 2022 when it was acquired by Mondelez International for $2.9 billion. In April 2013, Kevin Cleary was named CEO of the company, Rich Boragno was named CFO, and co-owners Erickson and Kit Crawford became co-chief visionary officers. In 2018, Cleary departed the company and Erickson and Crawford became co-CEOs, positions they held previously.
Ceres is a non-profit sustainability advocacy organization based in Boston, Massachusetts, and founded in 1989. As of May 2017, its president is Mindy Lubber.
The energy policy of the United Kingdom refers to the United Kingdom's efforts towards reducing energy intensity, reducing energy poverty, and maintaining energy supply reliability. The United Kingdom has had success in this, though energy intensity remains high. There is an ambitious goal to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in future years, but it is unclear whether the programmes in place are sufficient to achieve this objective. Regarding energy self-sufficiency, UK policy does not address this issue, other than to concede historic energy security is currently ceasing to exist.
The Alliance to Save Energy is a bipartisan, nonprofit coalition of business, government, environmental, and consumer groups based in Washington, D.C. The Alliance states that it advocates for "energy-efficiency policies that minimize costs to society and individual consumers, and that lessen greenhouse gas emissions and their impact on the global climate." The Alliance's chief activities include public relations, research, and lobbying to change U.S. energy policy.
The Investor Network on Climate Risk (INCR) is a nonprofit organization of investors and financial institutions that promotes better understanding of the financial risks and investment opportunities posed by climate change. INCR is coordinated by Ceres, a coalition of investors and environmental groups working to advance sustainable prosperity.
Energy Saving Trust is a British organization devoted to promoting energy efficiency, energy conservation, and the sustainable use of energy, thereby reducing carbon dioxide emissions and helping to prevent man-made climate change. It was founded in the United Kingdom as a government-sponsored initiative in 1992, following the global Earth Summit.
The U.S. Climate Action Partnership (USCAP), formed in 2006 and launched publicly on January 22, 2007, is a co-operative group of businesses and leading environmental organizations. The group's primary purpose is to call on the U.S. government to require significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.
The Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme was a cap-and-trade emissions trading scheme for anthropogenic greenhouse gases proposed by the Rudd government, as part of its climate change policy, which had been due to commence in Australia in 2010. It marked a major change in the energy policy of Australia. The policy began to be formulated in April 2007, when the federal Labor Party was in Opposition and the six Labor-controlled states commissioned an independent review on energy policy, the Garnaut Climate Change Review, which published a number of reports. After Labor won the 2007 federal election and formed government, it published a Green Paper on climate change for discussion and comment. The Federal Treasury then modelled some of the financial and economic impacts of the proposed CPRS scheme.
The G8 Climate Change Roundtable was formed in January 2005 at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Its purpose was to address the global climate change issue facing governments, business and civil society. The first meeting was held in Gleneagles, Scotland, from 6–8 July 2005, to coincide with the 31st G8 summit.
The climate change policy of the United States has major impacts on global climate change and global climate change mitigation. This is because the United States is the second largest emitter of greenhouse gasses in the world after China, and is among the countries with the highest greenhouse gas emissions per person in the world. In total, the United States has emitted over a trillion metric tons of greenhouse gasses, more than any country in the world.
A carbon pricing scheme in Australia was introduced by the Gillard Labor minority government in 2011 as the Clean Energy Act 2011 which came into effect on 1 July 2012. Emissions from companies subject to the scheme dropped 7% upon its introduction. As a result of being in place for such a short time, and because the then Opposition leader Tony Abbott indicated he intended to repeal "the carbon tax", regulated organizations responded rather weakly, with very few investments in emissions reductions being made. The scheme was repealed on 17 July 2014, backdated to 1 July 2014. In its place the Abbott government set up the Emission Reduction Fund in December 2014. Emissions thereafter resumed their growth evident before the tax.
Citizens' Climate Lobby (CCL) is an international grassroots environmental group that trains and supports volunteers to build relationships with their elected representatives in order to influence climate policy. The CCL is a registered 501(c)(4) with approximately $680,000 in revenue in the United States in 2018. Operating since 2007, the goal of CCL is to build political support across party lines to put a price on carbon, specifically a revenue-neutral carbon fee and dividend (CF&D) at the national level. CCL is supported by notable climate scientists James Hansen, Katharine Hayhoe, and Daniel Kammen. CCL's advisory board also includes former Secretary of State George P. Shultz, former US Representative Bob Inglis, actor Don Cheadle, and RESULTS founder Sam Daley-Harris.
Green industrial policy (GIP) is strategic government policy that attempts to accelerate the development and growth of green industries to transition towards a low-carbon economy. Green industrial policy is necessary because green industries such as renewable energy and low-carbon public transportation infrastructure face high costs and many risks in terms of the market economy. Therefore, they need support from the public sector in the form of industrial policy until they become commercially viable. Natural scientists warn that immediate action must occur to lower greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate the effects of climate change. Social scientists argue that the mitigation of climate change requires state intervention and governance reform. Thus, governments use GIP to address the economic, political, and environmental issues of climate change. GIP is conducive to sustainable economic, institutional, and technological transformation. It goes beyond the free market economic structure to address market failures and commitment problems that hinder sustainable investment. Effective GIP builds political support for carbon regulation, which is necessary to transition towards a low-carbon economy. Several governments use different types of GIP that lead to various outcomes. The Green Industry plays a pivotal role in creating a sustainable and environmentally responsible future; By prioritizing resource efficiency, renewable energy, and eco-friendly practices, this industry significantly benefits society and the planet at large.