Microsoft joins Coca-Cola and Unilever in EU green business supergroup

Tech giant Microsoft has this week formally joined the European Corporate Leaders Group (CLG Europe), building on its recent commitment to become a net negative emission company.

CLG Europe brings together influential European businesses which share the aim of delivering climate neutrality through "progressive public policy". The group includes a host of top brands, such as Coca-Cola European Partners, EDF, Salesforce, Sky, Unilever, and others.

The announcement comes at a crucial time for European climate politics as the EU attempts to put green policies front and centre in its post-COVID-19 Recovery Package and finalise its plans to deliver on its net zero emissions by 2050 target.

As such, passing legislation to ensure the EU meets its long-term target and increases the ambition of its existing 2030 emissions target remains a top priority for leaders within the bloc, despite opposition from some member states and industry groups.

However, in joining the group Microsoft said it will step up its efforts to support the EU's goal "to become the world's first climate-neutral continent".

"Technology companies have a key responsibility to empower more sustainable solutions while making the use of technology more sustainable,"said Casper Klynge,vice president of European government affairs at Microsoft:"We're thrilled to join the Corporate Leaders Group and to work alongside businesses that [share] our climate ambition."

Microsoft won plaudits this year with the unveiling of plans to not only achieve 'net negative' carbon emissions by 2030, but also remove, by 2050, all of the carbon the firm has emitted since its creation in 1975.

The company also pledged to invest $1bn to support the creation of carbon reduction and removal technologies through the Carbon Investment Fund.

Eliot Whittington, director of CLG Europe, welcomed the arrival of another major partner for the group."Microsoft has set out a powerful climate leadership story with a clear-sighted vision of a carbon neutral future for the company as part of a wider net zero economy," he said. "I'm pleased to welcome Microsoft into CLG Europe and look forward to working with them to champion action on net zero technology and digitisation across the EU."

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• Topics
• Management
• Microsoft
• Corporate Leaders Group
• European Corporate Leaders Group
• European Union