Today, on World Environment Day, ABB a global technology company, joins EV100 and EP100 and commits to joining RE100 later this summer. This is a significant commitment to achieving carbon neutrality across its global operations by 2030. We asked ABB a few questions about their decision to join Climate Group initiatives and why climate action is important to them:
Tell us about ABB, what do you do, where do you do it and why?
ABB is a leading global technology company that energizes the transformation of society and industry to achieve a more productive, sustainable future. By connecting software to its electrification, robotics, automation and motion portfolio, ABB pushes the boundaries of technology to drive performance to new levels. With a history of excellence stretching back more than 130 years, ABB’s success is driven by about 105,000 talented employees in over 100 countries.
When it comes to climate action, our main contribution is our energy-saving technologies – our 2030 commitment is to help our customers reduce their annual CO2e (carbon-dioxide equivalent) emissions by at least 100 megatons. Close to 60 percent of our products and services are used in applications that have a positive impact on the environment.
Why did you decide to join the Climate Group initiatives?
Last year, ABB launched its 2030 sustainability strategy, which commits us to achieving carbon neutrality in our operations and to helping our customers and suppliers reduce their carbon footprints. Within ABB, we will achieve carbon neutrality by switching to renewables, electrifying our vehicle fleet, and implementing technologies that improve energy efficiency across our operations. These actions match exactly the Climate Group’s RE100, EV100 and EP100 initiatives. We also believe that supporting the Climate Group initiatives will incentivize our partners to do the same.
What will joining the Climate Group help you to achieve?
As a global technology company that specializes in solutions needed to bring about a low-carbon society, ABB has an important role to play in addressing the climate challenge. As part of Climate Group, we can lend our weight to the considerable effort being made by business to energize the transformation of industry and society to achieve a more sustainable future, as well as bring concrete solutions to the table. This is part of our company purpose.
Why do you think taking action against climate change is so important?
There is no longer any doubt that human activity is responsible for much if not all of the rise in global temperatures over the past century. If we do not act now to limit global warming to 1.5°C, rising temperatures could have an irreversible impact on the earth’s ecosystems – for instance, through rising sea levels – jeopardizing the health and wellbeing of future generations. We have the responsibility and the means to prevent that from happening. At ABB, our business model has always been based on improving the efficiency of electrification and automation, which in turn reduces emissions from industries, buildings and transport.
What are you already doing to take climate action?
ABB has always taken a sustainable approach to business. Since we were founded more than 130 years ago, we have been pushing the boundaries of technology to help our customers make their operations more energy efficient and productive. Today, through our technologies, we enable our customers to reduce energy consumption and emissions across sectors like industry, transport and buildings, which is where most greenhouse gas emissions occur. We also help our suppliers use energy more efficiently, and in our own operations we are improving efficiency, switching to electric vehicles in our fleet, and increasingly obtaining our electricity from renewable sources.
What are your future plans to take climate action?
Our 2030 commitment is to help our customers reduce their annual CO2e (carbon-dioxide equivalent) emissions by at least 100 megatons – equivalent to the annual emissions of 30 million combustion cars. We will lead by example in our own operations by reaching carbon neutrality through transitioning to renewable sources of energy, improving energy efficiency across our factories and sites, and converting our vehicle fleet to electric or other non-emitting alternatives. Our carbon neutrality targets have been verified by the Science Based Targets initiative as being in line with a 1.5°C trajectory. We will engage with our suppliers to extend our impact in reducing emissions across our supply chain.