PACE: Committing World Leading CEOs to Carbon Net Zero
PACE (Public Listed Companies towards Clean Emissions), a unique NGO focussed on attaining net-zero is bringing together public listed companies from across the world to accelerate the reduction of carbon emissions.
With support from global business, government policy makers, international financial institutions, investors and the cleantech community, this new NGO is the only organisation to champion and support PLCs in their transition to Carbon Net Zero.
As business leaders, PACE acknowledges that public listed companies are facing unique challenges compared to private, smaller or non-listed companies. The nature of this means it is unrealistic to expect any organisation to represent the interests and challenges of every company regardless of size; however, this is where PACE steps in.
Setting the PACE
We have been working with COP26, UN agencies, The World Bank, governments across the world, funds and international partners to provide leaders of Public Listed Companies with the strategies, tools and resources to achieve Carbon Net Zero on a timescale of their choosing.”
Founder, Ross Kingsland
“Most of the 43,000 publicly-listed global companies are largely unengaged from the global conversation for a variety of reasons.”
Through PACE we are focused on economic growth, cost savings, minimising risk and increasing shareholder value through our global partnership and supplier networks while accelerating industry to net zero.”
“We see the carbon challenge as an opportunity”
“Creating markets and shaping innovation policy is crucial to bringing about the technologies needed to close the emissions gap. Common success factors include specialist organizations, such as PACE, coordinating activities across the innovation chain, patient and strategic finance that leverages other actors, and international collaboration has the potential to unlock additional innovation capacity through leveraging greater pools of money and talent and providing an avenue for international best-practice-sharing,” said Mariana Mazzucato UCL – Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose.
After recognising the significant underrepresentation public listed companies experience internationally at the hands of government policy, it became clear that PLC had left them flatfooted and reactive to significant changes that had been affecting their performance.
The PACE of change
Noting the recent example of the exhaust standards within the car industry and the direct impact non-conformance had with share price, brand reputation, sales and global quarterly losses, the UK is passing into law that from 2035 (or sooner) there will be no new petrol, diesel or hybrid cars sold as the country transitions to all electric.
In order to accelerate the pace of change and support other governments meet their country carbon targets, PACE is stimulating the industry through peer to peer workshops for policy makers.
Those PLCs joining PACE will set a date that they will be carbon net zero by, they will then submit a baseline of their current impact and note their key milestones to achieve their target. From then, each PLC will annually submit an update which informs whether they are on track or if they have fallen behind.
Yet, what makes PACE unique, is if the latter has occurred, they will step-in to support PLCs course-correct utilising their global network of partners, suppliers, investors and policy makers.
As noted by Alok Sharma President of COP26, PACE is facilitating the unity necessary to meet global climate targets:
“It is outstanding to see PACE bring together major actors to leverage and increase financial commitments and strategies to existing channels and improve the way that money is spent. These plans will be integral to achieve the targets set out in the Paris Agreement and maintain global momentum on tackling climate change.”v