Verizon joins RE100 climate initiative, builds on 2030 renewables goal
Verizon joins RE100 climate initiative, builds on 2030 renewables goal | ESG Dive
Dive Brief:
Verizon is joining RE100, a global initiative that brings together large businesses across industries that have committed to procuring 100% of their energy demand from renewable electricity, the company announced Thursday. RE100 also seeks to “accelerate change towards zero carbon grids at scale,” according to its mission statement.
The initiative, launched in 2014 during Climate Week NYC, is led by the nonprofit Climate Group in collaboration with the Carbon Disclosure Project — a global charity that helps companies, jurisdictions and public authorities disclose their environmental impact.
- Verizon, the nation’s second-largest telecommunications provider by revenue, said last year it aims to source or generate renewable energy equivalent to 50% of its annual electricity usage by 2025 and 100% by 2030. The RE100 membership builds on Verizon’s goal to achieve net-zero emissions across its operations by 2035.
Dive Insight:
Verizon said its decision to join RE100 aligns with its commitment to accelerate progress in its environmental and social goals as part of its Citizen Verizon ESG strategy. The plan includes initiatives such as recycling electronic waste, reducing water consumption and planting 20 million trees by the end of the decade.
The New York-headquartered company also launched a Forward for Good Accelerator as part of its ESG strategy, which supports startups that create technology and solutions to help communities facing climate change and social challenges.
“Joining this global initiative further underscores Verizon’s dedication to reducing our carbon footprint and transitioning to renewable energy to help protect the planet for future generations,” James Gowen, Verizon’s chief sustainability officer and senior vice president of global supply chain and sourcing, said in a press release.
The announcement comes shortly after Verizon said it was investing the net proceeds of its nearly $1 billion green bond in renewable energy projects spread across five states. The company said it had allocated the proceeds to renewable energy purchase agreements which cover nearly 0.9 gigawatts of new renewable energy generating capacity, of which 53% is solar energy and 47% is wind energy. Verizon also said the greenhouse gas emissions that would be slashed due to these green bond-funded projects would amount to 846,009 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent.
In its Green Bond Impact Report, which accompanied last month’s proceeds allocation news, Verizon said it wasn’t feasible to power its network operations directly from solar or wind generation, as its operations are spread out across the country and require a steady supply of electricity to function. Though the company relies on sourcing power from the country’s electrical grids, produced from conventional fossil fuels, it said it aims to “accelerate the transition to greener electrical grids across the U.S.” Verizon said it is working on that goal by bringing additional renewable energy to the grids through long-term REPAs for solar and wind power.
The company said it has issued five green bonds worth approximately $5 billion since 2019, the net proceeds of which have been invested primarily, or completely, in clean energy projects.
Related Knowledge Center: Climate economics
Climate change is now a driver of the world’s economy. The impact is profound:
- Catastrophic weather events — hurricanes, floods, droughts, high temperatures — are more frequent and more extreme. The cost can be measured in both the initial damage caused and the longer-term impact on the economy.
- Vulnerable communities are increasing climate-related investments, hardening infrastructure and taking other protective measures.
- Investment in carbon capture and storage technologies is increasingly rapidly.
- Governments are making investments and crafting regulations to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.
On top of all of this is the cost of uncertainty. As the Fourth National Climate Assessment, released in 2018 by the U.S. Global Change Research Program, says, “The assumption that current and future climate conditions will resemble the recent past is no longer valid.”