EU Updates - February
Ursula von der Leyen’ Sustainability Priorities at Davos 2021
On 26 January, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen took part in the Davos Agenda, the World Economic Forum’s platform to shape the principles, policies, and partnerships needed to drive the recovery over the next year. In her speech, President von der Leyen highlighted 4 sustainability-related priorities:
Biodiversity
The Commission will soon present a legal framework for the restoration of healthy ecosystems, including the protection of at least 30% of land and sea in Europe. This ambition will be pursued also at the global level, at the next UN Biodiversity Summit in Kunming. “We need a Paris-style agreement for biodiversity”, said von der Leyen, who remarked how more than half of global GDP is dependent on high-functioning biodiversity and ecosystems.
European Climate Law
The Commission’s proposal for the first-ever European Climate Law aims to write into law the goal set out in the European Green Deal: for Europe’s economy and society to become climate-neutral by 2050. “We will put forward legislation to help us get there from renewables to emissions trading, from clean hydrogen to the circular economy. And we have dedicated 37% of NextGenerationEU – that is our EUR 750 billion Recovery Plan –, 37% dedicated to the European Green Deal”, said the Commission President.
Due Diligence
To foster a culture of sustainable corporate governance, the Commission will strengthen due diligence for companies, “to ensure that the EU market does not drive deforestation on the other side of the world”.
Sustainable Finance
“The green bond standard and the EU taxonomy will bring clarity on what accounts for sustainable, eco-friendly activities”, thus helping investors to finance truly sustainable projects.
For more information:
A European Climate Pact to Reach Carbon-Neutrality by 2050
The European Climate Pact is the Commission’s initiative to invite people, organisations, businesses, and civil society to participate in climate action and build a greener Europe.
Signatories will have the opportunity to connect and share best practices, learn about climate change, and develop, implement, and scale-up solutions.
For the time being, the Pact is focusing on four key areas:
Green areas
Green transport
Green buildings
Green skills
In the future, the topics will expand to incorporate other areas, such as sustainable consumption and production, two important pillars of the Commission’s 2021 Work Programme.
Interested parties can participate in the Pact by:
Becoming a Climate Pact Ambassador
Taking climate-friendly action and making a pledge
Registering a satellite event
Since the Pact has an open mandate, its scope will evolve based on the ideas and contributions of the people and organisations that become part of it.
The European Commission launched the European Climate Pact in December 2020. The Pact is a key pillar of the Commission’s climate ambition and reinforces the stances put forward in the Climate Law currently under discussion at the European Council.
European Commission Launches the Green Consumption Pledge
The European Commission has launched the Green Consumption Pledge to increase the sustainability of production and consumption. The pledge calls upon businesses to:
Undertake concrete, public, and verifiable commitments to reduce their overall carbon footprint.
Produce and market more sustainable products.
Redouble efforts towards raising the awareness of consumers about the impact of their consumption choices.
The Pledge follows the publication of the New Consumer Agenda and is the first initiative implementing the Commission’s renewed consumer policy. The initiative contributes also to the goals of the European Climate Pact.
Companies can join proven that they are taking concrete action and tracking their progress closely.
Businesses that are not operating directly in the food industry but are involved, for instance, in the retail sector or similar, can reach out to the Commission before the end of March to explore how to get on board.
Colruyt Group, Decathlon, LEGO Group, L'Oréal, and Renewed have already made different pledges including efforts to:
Calculate the carbon footprint of the company
Calculate the carbon footprint of selected flagship products of the company
Increase the sale of sustainable products or services within the total sales of the company or its selected business part.
Commit part of the corporate public relations expenditure to the promotion of sustainable practices
Ensure the information provided to consumers in relation to the company and product carbon footprints is available