This chapter identifies numerous corporate climate initiatives underway around the world and explains how new initiatives could reduce annual greenhouse gas emissions by an additional half-billion tons over the next decade.
The chapter begins by exploring sector-specific initiatives in the forest products, beef and leather, soy, palm oil sectors, and explains how the Carbon War Room is targeting market failures in several corporate sectors that have the potential to reduce billions of tons of emissions. The chapter then explains how carbon footprint disclosure initiatives are targeting emissions at the corporate, project, lender and investor, and product levels. Carbon disclosure initiatives by private advocacy organizations such as CDP and Ceres have motivated firms to reduce emissions, and additional pressure could extend to small firms if large firms increase supply chain disclosure. These initiatives are particularly important at the global level because they can leverage growth in international trade, extending motivation for climate mitigation across national borders even in the absence of international agreements. The chapter wraps up by noting that many additional initiatives are possible, including initiatives that target benefit corporations, a new corporate form that explicitly authorizes corporations to pursue environmental and social goals as well as profits.