The Climate Leaders Coalition has announced a new Statement of Ambition and refreshed Strategy, which it says marks the next step in business-led climate action in New Zealand – just as COP30 concludes in Belém.
Malcolm Johns, CLC Convenor and CEO of Genesis Energy, says as the coalition enters a new chapter “we do so with an unwavering resolve to deliver on the commitment the Coalition first set down in 2018, support stable long-term policy settings and help Aotearoa New Zealand deliver a pathway to net zero by 2050 for a prosperous future”.
“As the realities of climate action evolve, so too must our collective leadership.”
He says in a statement that the launch of the new Statement of Ambition reflects that, “placing greater emphasis on CEO-to-CEO collaboration, increased accountability, and practical partnerships with government to drive enduring change”.
The coalition says the new statement outlines specific CEO and business commitments in several key areas, including:
- Overall commitment to support New Zealand’s net zero 2050 goal by setting climate targets or goals that contribute to New Zealand’s transition.
- CEO commitment to further build climate knowledge, support teams to deliver climate action across businesses, and engage with board members on climate governance.
- Commitment to work with other CEOs to drive collaborative climate action efforts.
- Business commitments to embed climate considerations into business strategies, publicly report on past progress and future plans, and influence climate action across value chains through collaboration with wider sectors.
- Commitment to advocate for policies and initiatives that support CLC’s vision.
The new statement also reinforces CLC’s expectation of transparency for all signatories, while reflecting the evolution of climate reporting, which is now mandatory for some signatories. To avoid duplication of effort, where possible, the coalition will rely on public disclosures to gather information to support signatory accountability and collective reporting on progress.
“Public transparency has always been a cornerstone of the coalition’s work and remains so. Signatories must continue to transparently report progress against their climate-related targets and goals, as well as their plans for the future.”
A refreshed strategy underpins the commitments, anchoring the Coalition to New Zealand’s legislated 2050 climate targets.
“This refreshed strategy recognises the complexity of the journey ahead and the diversity of the coalition’s sectors…
Chief Executive of the Sustainable Business Council Mike Burrell says: “This refreshed strategy recognises the complexity of the journey ahead and the diversity of the coalition’s sectors. Importantly, it ensures even the hard-to-abate sectors remain in the tent, ensuring New Zealand’s biggest climate challenges are tackled head-on. It’s designed to unlock impact, maintain momentum, and ensure our business leaders stay the course.
“Critically, it also positions the coalition’s signatory businesses to harness the immense opportunities, particularly in potential economic and export growth, arising from the shift to a net zero economy.”
The coalition has also announced the focus of its first major collaboration under the new statement, which will focus on driving emissions reductions in the value chain.
“Signatories recognise scope 3* emissions present the biggest challenge, but also the greatest opportunity to reduce emissions, across the system. We look forward to sharing more information on this work as it’s developed,” says Burrell.
“We invite other businesses to join us and do the same…
Johns says: “With the launch of this new Statement and refreshed Strategy, we signal our unified commitment to maintain our momentum and continue to lead from the top by engaging our boards, empowering our teams, and building capability throughout our businesses to enable lasting change.”
“We invite other businesses to join us and do the same.”
The new Statement will replace the 2017, 2019 and 2022 Statements. Existing signatories and new signatories will have 18 months from joining, or until March 2027 (whichever comes first), to meet the new commitments.
Click here to read the new Statement of Ambition and refreshed Strategy.
*Scope 3 emissions are indirect greenhouse gas emissions that occur across a company’s value chain (all activities involved in creating and delivering a product or service), such as those from suppliers, product use, transportation, and waste disposal.
Coalition signatories collectively represent around 30% of NZ’s GDP, employ around 9% of NZ’s full-time employees, and have a collective turnover of $123 billion.
