Kellogg’s amongst latest raft of businesses to pledge to RE100

Business demand for renewable energy has surged to around 150 TWh, after food firms Kellogg's and Clif Bar & Company joined a global banking firm and a cosmetics company in joining the RE100 commitment to power their global operations with 100% renewable energy.


The Climate Group has today (13 September) announced that The Esteé Lauder Companies and Singaporean bank DBS have joined Kellogg’s and Clif Bar & Company in signing up to the RE100 initiative.  As a result, the 106 members of the campaign have taken total demand for renewable electricity to 150 TWh annually – more than the power demand of New York State.

“By joining our campaigns, corporates like The Estée Lauder Companies, Kellogg’s, DBS Bank and Clif Bar are demonstrating the highest level of commitment to climate action and setting an example at Climate Week NYC,” The Climate Group’s chief executive Helen Clarkson said.

“But they’re not doing it out of the goodness of their hearts – renewable power makes business sense, and corporate leadership is absolutely key to delivering on the Paris Agreement at speed.”

Kellogg’s has set a goal to source 100% renewable electricity by 2050 and already sources 20% renewable energy through various contracts in the US and Europe. The firm has set an interim target of reaching 40% by 2020 and believes that the switch will help with a goal to reduce emissions by 65% by 2050.

As for the other firms, DBS Bank will target 100% renewables by 2030, while Clif Bar & Company has been purchasing renewable electricity certificates equivalent to 100% of its total operations for the last 10 years and will now turn to direct sourcing initiatives.

The Estée Lauder Companies, specialists on makeup, skin care, fragrance and hair care with a diverse portfolio of more than 25 brands, has agreed to source 100% of its global electricity consumption from renewables by 2020. The company already powers 45% of its operations with renewable electricity.

Kellogg’s chief sustainability officer Diane Holdorf said: “As one of the first ten companies to have approved science-based greenhouse gas emissions targets in 2015, we’ve already invested in energy efficiency and low carbon technologies. Going 100% renewable is the obvious next step; lowering business risk, generating financial savings, and helping other companies make the switch as well.”

RE500

The Climate is targeting 500 members for the RE100 initiative by 2020, with each signatory encouraged to promote the initiative to its suppliers, after passing the 100-member milestone in July 2017.

In a recent episode of edie’s sustainable business covered podcast, Paul Hawken, author of Project Drawdown, noted that collaborative approaches to climate action such as the RE100 were critical to delivering change.

The Climate Group is expecting further RE100 commitments during Climate Week NYC next week. The Group will also launch its upcoming EV100 initiative, to boost the uptake of electric vehicles in corporate fleets.

Matt Mace

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