Thought Leadership Series #2

Lead author

Samuel A. DiPiazza, Jr., CEO, PricewaterhouseCoopers International Ltd.

With an introduction by

Erik Rasmussen, CEO, Monday Morning and Founder, Copenhagen Climate Council

In conversation with

Shai Agassi, CEO and Founder, Better Place
Carsten Bjerg, CEO, Grundfos
Jørgen Mads Clausen, CEO, Danfoss
Anders Eldrup, President and CEO, DONG Energy Denmark
Lise Kingo, Executive Vice President and Chief of Staff, Novo Nordisk A/S
Rob Morrison, Chairman, CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets
Paul S. Otellini, President and CEO, Intel
Robert Purves, AM, Chair, Environment Business Australia and Board Member, WWF International
Jens Ulltvelt-Moe, CEO, Umoe A/S
Li Xiaolin, Chairwoman and CEO, China Power International Development Ltd.

Developing a new mindset

Thanks to science we now have an increasingly clear and ominous picture of how our climate is changing. As their knowledge continues to evolve, scientists have issued stronger and more compelling warnings about the impacts of climate change and the steps that need to be taken in order to avoid the most catastrophic outcomes associated with these changes.

Some of these findings are included in this report and they paint a very gloomy picture of the future of our planet. But there is still room for hope. We cannot prevent manmade climate damage. Depending on the speed and ambition of our actions, we can not only stabilize the global climate system but fuel a series of new industrial ventures and create sustainable future economic growth. We still have the possibility to turn climate risks into new opportunities.

Rising to seize these opportunities is the imperative of the business community. As both an important part of the problem and the driving force behind the solution, business holds the decisive key to climate change – and now it is the time to use it.

With this report, The CEO's Guide to Climate Action, the Copenhagen Climate Council takes one step towards mobilizing a response from the broader business community. With insights from ten leading businesspeople, all members of the Copenhagen Climate Council and with Samuel DiPiazza, CEO of PricewaterhouseCoopers as lead author, the report portrays how innovative companies across all sectors of the global economy are accounting for climate change and taking action to minimize risk and leverage new opportunities. If this were a representative sample of global business, there would be room for optimism; but these are all frontrunners. Their vision and approach must quickly become common practice within a very short time if business shall fulfill its responsibility in the fight against climate change.

It is the mission of the Copenhagen Climate Council to articulate a strong, coherent and ambitious mandate on behalf of the global business community and present it to the Danish hosts of the UN Climate Change Conference taking place in Copenhagen this December. That is why we have joined forces with a group of leading international institutions committed to addressing climate change: UN Global Compact, World Business Council for Sustainable Development, The Climate Group, Combat Climate Change (a Vattenfall initiative), and the World Economic Forum. This mandate – The Copenhagen Call – will be delivered at the conclusion of the World Business Summit on Climate Change in Copenhagen, May 24-26.

The Copenhagen Call shall be an unequivocal call to action, a message to world leaders from the business community that solutions are possible. Agreement in 2009 on the foundational principles of a long-term climate framework, including strong incentives for massive investment in new technologies and new climate solutions, is a global imperative. Such an agreement is the only way to mobilize the required transformational resources from the private sector, and so spawn a new green industrial revolution to ensure a sustainable and prosperous planet for future generations: The biggest and most important win-win opportunity ever.

December 2009 should mark a new global partnership between business and politics. Scientists have provided all the arguments for the need and urgency of that partnership. Their message is clear: We are running out of time. To clear the path for political agreement, the next step should be an innovative and visionary business response. That is what this report is all about – outlining some of the critical issues and possible responses in dealing with climate change.

If there is one conclusion to be drawn from the pages that follow, it is this: The challenge ahead is daunting and critical, but not insurmountable. The biggest challenge is to develop a new approach to doing business and a new mindset within business. We hope this report will help show the way.

Erik Rasmussen, CEO, Monday Morning, and Founder, Copenhagen Climate Council