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“For me personally, I hope to get ‘takers’ … When other companies, including some of our competitors, started talking about their abatement targets, to me that was great. Indeed, a fundamental aspect of her role at BT is to inspire other companies to embrace climate action, she says. The more that do so, the better, she believes. It is for this reason that Ginér took the highly unusual decision to publish the methodologies behind BT’s science-based climate targets.Īsked if she isn’t concerned that others might simply lift wholesale the methodological insights that BT worked for months to develop with the Climate Trust, she responds with genuine equanimity. In addition, Ginér praises a collaborative approach to climate change action for its “snowball effect”, which prompts climate laggards to get on board and climate leaders to “raise the bar”. No one has all the answers, but we are trying to get there by talking.” Such organisations represent “safe spaces” for businesses, where corporate professionals can talk through shared challenges in a frank and open fashion, she observes: “People who work in this space realise that is a shared problem. Today, BT occupies a leading role in a host of business-led climate coalitions, from We Mean Business and The Climate Group through to CDP (formerly, the Carbon Disclosure Programme) and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development. Second, the speech demonstrated Ginér’s deep conviction about the importance of cooperation. As she stated at the time: “The business case for climate action is clear.” In terms of hard, cold cash, BT netted £220m in energy savings between 20 (the figure has since increased to £298m). Ginér drew attention to the fact that BT’s carbon-saving products (teleconferencing, broadband, cloud networking, and so on) now makes up nearly one quarter (23.4%) of the company’s entire revenues. No one has all the answers, but we are trying to get there by talking People who work in this space realise that climate change is a shared problem. For this £5.5bn FTSE 100 company, tackling climate change is as much about business growth as it is the wellbeing of the planet, she told the packed conference hall. How she used the three minutes allocated to her in Bonn reveals much about her strategy for making a difference and driving change, particularly at a political level.įirst up, she was dead straight about BT’s motivations. The invitation arose from her involvement in the Talanoa Dialogue, a year-long process aimed at including the voices of non-state actors. That said, at a UN climate meeting in Bonn in May 2018, she briefly addressed the conference’s official delegates. A strategic conversation here, a confidential chat there. Generally, it is the corridors of COP where Ginér wears down her shoes, not on the main stage.
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So no high-level sponsorships or boozy side events. The national brand, which recently rebranded to reflect that is is no longer just about telecoms and broadband, is keeping a low-ish profile in Madrid. A lot of policymakers are not aware of what businesses are already doing.”ĭon’t expect any grandstanding from Ginér, however. is to show best practice and what we are doing. In faintly accented English (she is Swedish by birth), Ginér runs off a lengthy list of BT’s recent achievements: an 80% reduction in carbon emissions from its own operations (and scope 2) since 1996 a more than doubling of renewable energy consumption since 2004, to 87% of all its electricity needs today savings of £298m in energy efficiency measures over the last decade.Īs she explains: “What we are trying to do at COP.
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A lot of policymakers are not aware of what businesses are already doing What we are trying to do at COP is to show best practice. The quality of BT’s customer service may invite questions, but its record for climate leadership is up there with the best. In short, she knows that the regulatory process matters.Īs with other business attendees (the number of which is increasing year on year), she will be partly in Madrid to fly her company’s flag. A graduate in international economics, Ginér has a long background in public affairs and government relations, including a stint in Brussels prior to joining BT in 1997. Head of environmental sustainability at the UK telcoms giant BT, Ginér attended her first COP (Conference of the Parties) in Paris in 2015 and has not missed one since.īut she is no conference groupie. On the eve of COP25 climate conference in Madrid, Oliver Balch profiles the head of sustainability at the FTSE 100 company, one of the first to set an ambitious 1.5C science-based targetĪmid the hoard of climate-minded policymakers, campaigners, lobbyists and media heading to Madrid next week for the United Nations’ annual climate jamboree will be Gabrielle Ginér.