Nestlé Germany is among 50 large companies and SMEs that have signed a declaration calling on the German government to make climate change its central priority.
The wide-ranging alliance is appealing to the governing coalition to prioritise measures to counter climate change, transition to renewable energy sources, and implement the German Climate Action Plan 2050.
The group represents over 450,000 employees, and collectively generate €250 billion in profits. It includes six DAX-30 companies and several prominent names, such as the Adidas Group, Aldi, Hermes Germany and Metro.
"We demand that the future federal government make climate protection a much higher priority,” said Anke Stübing, head of corporate social responsibility at Nestlé Germany.
"The upcoming governing coalition should increase the speed of the transformation towards a greenhouse-gas-neutral economy and seek close cooperation with European and international partners.
“It is very important that we achieve the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement. For this, our companies require the appropriate guidelines. By ourselves, we cannot stop climate change, but together,” Stübing added.
The group also includes energy-intensive industries, such as coal companies, which would not reap immediate profits from reducing carbon emissions. However, the signatories are ready to contribute to the fight against climate change, according to Nestlé.
Smart State Frameworks
The declaration comes only a few weeks after Nestlé co-signed a letter supporting the ‘Cerrado Manifesto’, which aims to end deforestation from agriculture in the Cerrado tropical savannah in Brazil.
Stübing noted that a pioneering role in climate protection offers a great opportunity for the innovative strength and competitiveness of the German economy.
She added that with the help of smart state frameworks, the internationally competitive and energy-intensive industries could pursue their ecological transformation further and maintain their competitiveness.
© 2017 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Kevin Duggan. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
