In a letter published Wednesday, over 300 companies and groups, nearly 75 of which have over $100m in annual revenue, redoubled their commitment to support governors and world leaders working to implement the Paris Climate Change Agreement.
DuPont, L’Oréal USA, Unilever, and that company’s newly acquired Seventh Generation brand all signed the letter, which is posted on lowcarbonusa.org. Ingredient maker Biosynthetic Technologies signed as well. Most of that company’s products are used in automotive, machine, and similar industrial applications. Biosynthetic Technologies, however, also makes Cocoestolide, a personal care ingredient used in skin care, hair care, and color cosmetic formulations.
The letter
The letter essentially encourages Donald Trump, President Barak Obama, the US Congress, and global leaders to maintain momentum on the Paris Climate Agreement.
“Failure to build a low-carbon economy puts American prosperity at risk….We pledge to do our part, in our own operations and beyond, to realize the Paris Agreement’s commitment of a global economy that limits global temperature rise to well below 2 degrees Celsius….We call on our elected US leaders to strongly support [the key features of the agreement].”
And as Danielle Wiener-Bronner points out, writing for money.cnn.com, this month’s open letter isn’t merely a formal way of welcoming Donald Trump to the climate conversation: “Business leaders are…concerned over Trump's climate change stance” and they aren’t alone, notes Wiener-Bronner. “Scientists have questioned what a refusal of the Paris Agreement would mean for the environment, and have expressed concern over Trump's signaling that he will place climate change deniers in top White House positions.”
Well begun
Industry leading companies, like L’Oréal, have invested heavily in the infrastructure that will make a lower carbon economy possible. If the US backs out of the Paris Climate Agreement, not only would the country’s industrial impact on the environment increase, corporate investments in alternative energies and the concomitant infrastructures could be lost.
The letter on lowcarbonusa.org explains, “implementing the Paris Agreement will enable and encourage businesses and investors to turn the billions of dollars in existing low-carbon investments into the trillions of dollars the world needs to bring clean energy and prosperity to all.”
As part of the company’s Sharing Beauty with All initiative, “L’Oréal aims to better the environmental profile of every one of its products by 2020; and intends to reduce its total carbon footprint by 60%,” as Cosmetics Design reported earlier this year. This includes the conversion of its Florence, Kentucky, manufacturing plant to solar power—solar power from the company’s own facility.
Other evidence of the company’s commitment to a low-carbon economy can be seen in the Lights by L’Oréal project that has the company replacing park lighting along the Hudson River with LED fixtures and bulbs.