A new climate action initiative has been launched ahead of COP26 to help accelerate the transition to net zero emissions.
The Scottish Business Climate Collaboration (SBCC) is made up of Aggreko, Diageo, EY, FirstGroup, Lloyds Banking Group, M&G, Scottish Power, Scottish Water and Wood.
The nine businesses represent around 25,000 employees in Scotland and 570,000 globally, with more than £92bn in global revenue.
SBCC’s mission is to leverage combined scale and sustainability ambitions to accelerate the journey towards the nation's climate targets.
The group will provide strategic direction and explore practical, best practice action members can take – corporately and at employee levels.
It aims to generate a meaningful business legacy from the global intergovernmental conference when it takes place in Glasgow next month.
Work will culminate in a SBCC pledge, to be announced during COP26, when other businesses will be invited to adopt the measures in the pledge.
The group will meet on a bi-annual basis to share best practice, ensure the spirit of the SBCC pledge is being observed and consider further ways to collaborate to work towards net zero following the climate summit in Glasgow.
Robin Watson, chief executive at Wood, said: “Climate change is one of the biggest challenges facing our generation - achieving a net zero future will require unprecedented levels of collaboration and alignment between government, investors, society and the business community.
“The SBCC offers an ideal platform for businesses in Scotland to engage in this important dialogue and to help shape some of the solutions we need.”
Sue Dawe, EY Scotland managing partner for financial services, commented: “As we emerge from the pandemic, it is right that we focus the same level of resolve on tackling sustainability - the other great global crisis of our time.”
Keith Anderson, chief executive at Scottish Power, added: “As we work to reduce carbon emissions and achieve net zero targets, companies like ours have a responsibility to lead by example and show how we’re making the transition to a cleaner and greener future a reality.”
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