The following was written by Eric H. Loeb, Executive Vice President, Government Affairs, Salesforce. Salesforce is part of Meridian’s Corporate Council. Learn more here.
For more than a decade, Salesforce has set ambitious climate targets. Climate is a key part of Salesforce’s public policy platform. Salesforce is committed to actively advocating for clear and consistent science-based climate policies that facilitate a just and equitable global transition to a 1.5°C future.
Salesforce considers the planet a stakeholder and believes that business can be a platform for change.
As a COP26 partner, Salesforce collaborated with leaders across the globe, focused on creating meaningful, lasting change. Moving forward, Salesforce will continue to advocate for the conference’s key initiatives – mitigation, adaptation, finance, and collaboration – with insights and momentum gleaned from its own sustainability journey. Here’s how.
Mitigation: Salesforce plays a meaningful role in creating a sustainable, low-carbon future for all by achieving Net Zero emissions globally by 2050 across its full value chain, reaching 100% renewable energy for its operations, and innovating new technologies like Salesforce Sustainability Cloud 2.0, which helps customers track and reduce emissions and take action on their environmental footprint with investor-grade data for customizable ESG reporting.
Adaptation: Salesforce is committed to conserving and protecting existing ecosystems. As a founding partner of 1T.org, Salesforce is helping conserve, restore, and plant 1 trillion trees by 2030 to help slow the planet’s rising temperatures and restore biodiversity and ecosystems. As part of our 1T.org commitment, Salesforce’s goal is to plant 100 million trees by the end of the decade, and we’re proud to have met a critical milestone of 43 million trees funded in just two years. You can see all projects here.
Finance: Salesforce believes that developed countries must keep to their promises in mobilizing at least $100 billion in climate finance per year by 2020. Salesforce announced the issuance of an inaugural $1 billion sustainability bond — the first by a software company — to support investments in innovative projects that address global climate, equality, and other social challenges. During COP26, Marc and Lynne Benioff and Salesforce announced a $300 million investment to accelerate ecosystem restoration and climate justice.
To fight the climate crisis and achieve Net Zero emissions globally by 2050, Salesforce joined the governments of Norway, the UK, the US, and leading companies as a founding partner of the LEAF Coalition, a public-private coalition with the goal of mobilizing at least $1 billion in 2021 to protect tropical forests around the world.
Additionally, Salesforce has called for mandatory climate disclosures, stating that companies should be required to publicly disclose independent third-party-reviewed emissions information, covering emission scopes 1, 2, and 3 as well as emission reduction goals, and there must be a globally recognized and formally governed reporting standard.
Collaboration: As Salesforce works to meet its goals, we are asking others to join us. Salesforce co-founded UpLink, an open-source digital platform to foster mass participation from ecopreneurs around the world to meet the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. Through Impact Labs, Salesforce is convening leading nonprofits, government, academia, and businesses to accelerate innovation and create new technology solutions that will contribute to a more sustainable future for all. Along with other corporates and environmental organizations, Salesforce co-founded Business Alliance to Scale Climate Solutions to enable greater collaboration and investment in climate action.
Salesforce considers the planet a stakeholder, and believes that business can be a platform for change. In this climate emergency, governments, businesses, and individuals each have a critical role to play and the time to act boldly is now. COP26 is the kickstart for all to work together in the effort to save our planet, protect vulnerable populations, and drive equality, while fueling economic growth, job creation, and a more sustainable world.
