Call for bold climate policy.

Johnson Controls has joined a call on governments to work with the private sector to accelerate the race to net zero. Lending its support to an open letter issued by the Alliance of CEO Climate Leaders, Johnson Controls has urged world leaders to seize the opportunity presented by the upcoming UN COP26 Climate Conference in Glasgow to set out bold policy agreements to give the world a chance of limiting the global average temperature increase to 1.5°C and achieving a just transition.

The Alliance is an informal group facilitated by the World Economic Forum, of which Johnson Controls is a member, consisting of Chief Executive Officers representing large multinational companies that collectively employ over 8 million people. All members of the Alliance have committed to set or have already set Paris-aligned targets across their value chains, which the Alliance estimates will mitigate over 1Gt of emissions annually by 2030. In its letter, the Alliance calls for “bold climate policy agreements at COP 26” and says leaders should use the summit as the best chance to agree on the steps that are required to halve greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) by 2030, reach net-zero emissions by 2050 and build nature-positive economies.

“The recent IPCC report spelled out in no uncertain terms that the climate crisis is here and needs urgent action now. COP26 is the perfect opportunity for governments to set out the policies that can help the private sector to better support that effort,” said George Oliver, chairman and CEO, Johnson Controls. “Technologies exist today that will enable us to bend the carbon emissions curve to reach net-zero by 2050. At Johnson Controls we have been lowering the global carbon footprint of our customers, our supply chain, as well as our own operations through the use of technologies such as OpenBlue, which is playing a key role in decarbonizing buildings. Buildings are a major component of global emissions – as much as 40 percent of global CO2 emissions are from the building sector.”

Johnson Controls believes that taking meaningful government action would not only accelerate private sector investment in major carbon emitting areas such as buildings, industry and infrastructure, but would also bring greater accuracy and transparency to corporate emissions data, thereby achieving net zero faster and more reliably.

The Alliance letter follows a call in June on the G7 for greater collaboration between business and government on achieving net-zero ambitions, and also identifies several points that will enable businesses to accelerate emission reductions, scale-up innovations and achieve a net-zero world by 2050.

Technology and collaboration are key to meeting global net zero targets. With the capability to drive 50 percent and more in improvement in energy efficiency and corresponding carbon emissions, the OpenBlue platform is already at the cutting edge of technology for decarbonizing buildings. The company is now pushing innovation further through collaboration, such as the recently announced joint collaboration on data and services with Atos. This will accelerate clients’ net zero journey by marrying Atos’ Net Zero Transformation Portfolio and EcoAct advisory solutions with the OpenBlue Net Zero Buildings portfolio of sustainability offerings.

Johnson Controls is a signatory to The Climate Pledge, an initiative of business leaders co-founded by Amazon and Global Optimism. Signatories to the pledge commit to reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2040 – ten years ahead of the Paris Climate Agreement goal. The company aims to cut its operational emissions by 55 percent and reduce customers’ emissions by 16 percent before 2030. These ambitious 2030 emissions reduction targets have been approved by the Science Based Targets Initiative. Johnson Controls also recently issued a Sustainability Linked Bond to support its commitment to achieving ambitious absolute GHG emission reductions by 2025.

The company is continuing to exercise its leadership in climate action through the Business Roundtable, with George Oliver joining the organization as chair of the Energy & Environment Committee in January. Business Roundtable is an association of chief executive officers of America’s leading companies. Its Energy & Environment Committee is dedicated to advancing policies that encourage innovation and support an environmentally and economically sustainable future.

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