Commercial, GHG Emissions  -  June 16, 2020

Verizon, Infosys join Amazon's Climate Pledge for 2040

Verizon Wireless and Infosys both announced June 16 that they are joining in on Amazon’s Climate Pledge and committing to be net-zero by 2040: 10 years ahead of the Paris Agreement.

By signing The Climate Pledge, both companies agree to measure and report their greenhouse gas emissions regularly and implement decarbonization strategies in line with the Paris Agreement. These strategies will usually take the form of energy efficiency improvements, renewable energy use, materials reductions and other emission elimination strategies. 

The remaining, unavoidable emissions are expected to be neutralized with carbon offsets by 2040.

Verizon is individually on track to be carbon neutral in their Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2035. Through a $1 billion green bond, the telecommunications giant is also on track to achieve 50% renewable energy by 2025 and completed a VPPA for more than 380 MW of new wind and solar capacity.

“Climate change is a global challenge that impacts everyone, and that is why we considered it vital to join The Climate Pledge,” Hans Vestberg, Chairman and CEO of Verizon, said in a statement. “Leaving future generations with a cleaner world is core to our values as a responsible business. At Verizon, it does not stop with reducing our carbon footprint. Through our technology and networks, we’re innovating solutions for customers, increasing efficiencies and building resiliency across the company and the communities we serve.”

Infosys previously committed in 2011 to be carbon neutral and is on track to achieve that goal well before 2040. So far, nearly 45% of their electricity comes from renewable sources and Infosys has invested in 60 MW of captive solar photovoltaic capacity.

“At Infosys, we recognized climate change as a serious threat to our planet early on, and realized our responsibility as a corporate institution to mitigate its impact by taking concrete steps,” Infosys CEO Salil Parekh, MD, said in a statement. “We believe that the way in which global organizations responded to this crisis would play a big role in defining how the rest of the world takes up the cause. As a result, we committed to climate action over a decade ago, and since then, the impact on climate and environment have been important considerations in the decisions we make as an organization. We are pleased to partner with Amazon and Global Optimism in The Climate Pledge initiative with a collective aim to work towards a low-carbon future.”

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