Nearly a third of FTSE 100 giants commit to net zero by 2050 as CEOs say now is time for ‘action and delivery’

Business minister Kwasi Kwarteng today hailed news that 30 of Britain’s largest corporates with a combined market cap of £650 billion have signed up to the UN’s Race to Zero campaign

The business minister urged other companies to follow suit in the coming months ahead of the UN COP26 summit in Glasgow in November

Naomi Ackerman @nomiackerman

30 March 2021

Tens of FTSE 100 giants with a combined market cap of £650 billion have signed up to a United Nations pledge to eliminate their carbon emissions by 2050 - seeing British firms make up a third of companies signed up globally.

On Tuesday business minister Kwasi Kwarteng hailed news that 30 of Britain’s largest corporates have signed up to the UN’s Race to Zero campaign, putting the index ahead of New York’s Dow Jones and Germany’s Drax by the measure.

The Government said pledges have doubled in the past five months. Household name corporates signed up including consumer goods firm Unilever, vaccine-maker AstraZeneca, finances giant Legal & General, Tesco and Sainsbury’s.

The rise in pledges comes as corporates face increasing pressure from conscious investors keen to take on portfolios with good ESG (Environmental Social and Governance) ratings.

Legal & General chief executive, Nigel Wilson, said: “Climate is not only the most urgent issue but also the biggest investment opportunity of our lifetimes. We can harness the power of business and markets to ensure the transition happens.

"All of us must now move from promises and commitments to action and delivery.”

The Race to Zero commitment includes meeting interim targets, and the use of carbon offsets with “robust standards”.

The government has been urging firms to sign up ahead of the anticipated UN climate talks summit, COP26, in Glasgow this November.

Its campaign - headed up by former Sky finance director, Andrew Griffith - is also working with the Federation of Small Business and the Institute of Directors to engage smaller businesses.

Griffith said reaching the milestone of signups today “makes the UK a global leader on tackling emissions with British companies representing a third of those signed up globally”.

Kwarteng said: “Businesses wield incredible influence to drive change across society and the economy… Today I am calling on more fantastic British companies to step up.”

Some campaigners argue that the government should make it mandatory for companies to align with the Paris climate change agreement, rather than set their own net zero targets.