15 Feb
2008 - Tokyo – Some of the world's leading
businesses have come together to call for
the world to take all necessary action to
keep global warming below the dangerous
threshold of 2 degrees Celsius.
The Tokyo Declaration,
signed by 12 companies including Allianz,
Sony, Nokia and Nike, was presented by Sony
Chairman and CEO Sir Howard Stringer at
the opening of the annual WWF Climate Savers
Conference at Sony Corporation headquarters
in Tokyo.
The declaration is the
most far-reaching call to action yet to
emerge from the business community, emphasizing
that world’s greenhouse gas emissions must
be reduced by more than 50 percent by 2050,
and that emissions must peak and start to
decline within the next 10 to 15 years in
order to stay below the threshold.
“At Sony, we believe
that it is impossible for a business to
flourish in a degraded environment,"
Sir Howard said. "For this reason we
are committed to using our technological
ability and know-how to reduce our impact
on the planet, and to help our customers
reduce their impact at home.
“We have always recognized
that we have an obligation to act responsibly
in all of our business activities to help
minimize our environmental impact, and at
the same time utilize our unique talents
to help solve environmental problems together
with our peer and our partners.”
Like Sony, all of the
signatories have pledged to match their
call to action with commitments to reduce
their own emissions in line with the commitments,
to urge or in some cases require business
partners to reduce climate pollution and
to promote and enable a low-carbon lifestyle
among their customers and consumers.
Many of the signatories
already have impressive records of achievement
in reducing their emissions as members of
the WWF Climate Savers Programme, a business
initiative introduced by WWF International
to mobilize action on climate change. Under
the programme, companies commit to sector
leading emissions reductions targets and
agree to independent verification of emissions
reduction achievements.
"WWF's Climate
Savers Programme and The Tokyo Declaration
suggest the scope of the contribution business
can make to successful action on climate
change", said James Leape, Director
General of WWF International.
"These companies
are to be applauded, not just for the example
they have set in reducing their own emissions,
but also for their willingness to urge action
on governments, the broader business community
and their customers and consumers."
With the Tokyo Declaration,
Climate Saver scompanies intend to emphasize
the imperatives and benefits of early, voluntary
and innovative action on climate change.
The signatories are Allianz, Catalyst, Collins,
Hewlett Packard, Nike, Nokia, Novo Nordisk,
Sagawa, Sony, Spitsbergen Travel, Tetra-Pak
and Xanterra.
Mariko Yamabe, Sony Corporation
Christian Teriete, WWF International
Notes to editors:
1) This press release and additional materials
including fact sheets on Climate Saver companies
and an overview of recent Climate Saver
achievements can be found online at http://www.panda.org/climate
and at http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/News/Press/
2) More information
about the signatory companies can be found
on their individual websites: Allianz (www.allianz.com),
Catalyst (www.catalystpaper.com), Collins
(www.collinswood.com), Hewlett Packard (www.hp.com),
Nike (www.nike.com), Nokia (www.nokia.com),
Novo Nordisk (www.novonordisk.com), Sagawa
(www.sagawa-exp.co.jp), Sony (www.sony.net),
Spitsbergen Travel (www.spitsbergentravel.no),
Tetra-Pak (www.tetrapak.com), Xanterra (www.xanterra.com).
3) Climate Savers is
a business initiative organized by WWF International
to mobilise companies to cut carbon dioxide
(CO2) emissions. WWF has dubbed Climate
Savers "innovative solutions for a
living planet". The cutting-edge partnerships
with these businesses provide attractive
solutions to climate change, as targets
agreed with WWF must be demonstrably more
ambitious than previously planned or communicated
by the company, placing the companies at
the forefront of emission reductions in
their particular sectors. A Climate Savers
agreement involves negotiations between
WWF, the company concerned and independent
technical experts who later monitor and
verify compliance with the agreement. As
part of its Climate Savers Programme, WWF
has agreements with some major brands and
corporations from around the world. All
of them have pledged to reduce their global
warming emissions considerably.
