A round-up of business news, including Siemens, PepsiCo and Willmott Dixon.
Siemens is aiming to be carbon neutral by 2030 and to halve its carbon emissions by 2050. The German-owned industrial company's CO2 emissions currently total 2.2 million tonnes and it plans to invest €100 million over the next three years in measures to reduce the energy footprint of its production facilities and buildings. The firm says that, by investing in energy management systems and automation systems for buildings and production processes, it will save €20 million a year on its energy costs. To achieve carbon neutrality by 2030, Siemens will use distributed energy systems at its production facilities and office buildings to optimise energy costs; employ low-emission vehicles in its global car fleet; and move towards using a "clean power" mix.
Fast-moving consumer goods company P&G has announced it will reduce absolute greenhouse-gas emissions from its facilities by 30% by 2020. The target has been developed with conservation group WWF and, says the firm, is based on the best available science. The company, whose brands include Ariel, Fairy and Pampers, says the target ensures it is supporting global efforts to prevent global temperatures exceeding 2ºC.
BT has been ranked top in the FTSE 100 carbon reporting performance league table for the second year running. The firm, which narrowly beat Marks & Spencer, scored 94%. The rankings score each company on its carbon measurement and reporting; strategy and targets; emissions reduction; and stakeholder engagement.
Willmott Dixon has pledged to halve its carbon emissions by 2020 compared with 2010. The target is to emit 50% less emissions per million pounds of turnover than in 2010, when the construction firm's emissions totalled 18,150 tonnes and its emission intensity - tonnes CO2 equivalent per £m of turnover - was 18.3.
PepsiCo has saved more than $375 million since its environmental sustainability goals were set in 2010. The firm said it had diverted 93% of its waste from landfills in 2014, surpassing its goal of 90% on recycling and reusing, and had cut its water use per unit of production by 23% since 2006, exceeding the 20% target set for 2015.
