Our success contributes to the social stability of regions around the world. Caterpillar and our employees focus on contributing time and resources to promoting the health and welfare of communities in which we work and live. We conduct our business in a manner that respects human rights individually.
It’s hard to imagine two brands more different than Walmart and Patagonia, yet in 2009 they aligned their unique strengths and issued a call to the industry. In an invitation to some of the world’s largest retailers, then Walmart chief merchandising officer, John Fleming, and Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard proposed an industry collaboration unlike any attempted before. The idea was to join competitors together to develop an index to measure the environmental impact of their products. The benefits, if the idea was successful and didn’t implode before it even got off the ground, would not only be at the individual company level, but would transform the industry.
Today the Morgan Stanley Institute for Sustainable Investing released the Climate Change Mitigation Opportunities Index, a report and interactive tool investors can use to examine the risks and opportunities of climate change mitigation investments. The index seeks to evaluate technology investment opportunities, both on their impact on mitigating climate change and their potential for market-rate returns.
A further 150 European companies have agreed to set science-based targets for greenhouse gas emissions reduction, many of which will rely on renewable energy and other clean technologies to meet their goals. To help accelerate the pace, Schneider Electric today announced it’s expanding the reach of the New Energy Opportunities (NEO) Network™, a growing community of forward-thinking corporations committed to buying and developing renewable energy and cleantech around the world.
The suffering of millions displaced by powerful megastorms like hurricanes Harvey and Irma underscore the critical significance of finding solutions to the world’s greatest challenges and the need for countries and the private sector to work in collaboration. Tackling tough global problems is a driving force for Jim Thompson, director for innovation within the U.S. Secretary of State’s Office of Global Partnerships (SGP), and speaker at COMMIT!Forum’s “Brands Taking Stands” event on Oct. 11-12.