Employee Race to Zero for COP28 Launched
A new initiative to support UN Climate Change High-Level Champions' call for non-state actors to align their advocacy, policy, and engagement with net zero goals.
July 3, 2023, London: A global competition for employees to accelerate sustainable behaviours has been launched today, by Giki, the B Corp and Social Enterprise that helps people learn what they can do for the planet. The Race to Zero campaign, led by the UN Climate Change High-Level Champions brings companies together to reach net zero, and this new initiative provides a fun, competitive, focused month of climate action ahead of COP28.
The Employee Race to Zero is a new initiative for the 8,300 member companies of the Race to Zero who need to educate and engage their employees on sustainability.
The Employee Race to Zero is supported and endorsed by the Race to Zero as part of their 3rd -year anniversary at London Climate Action Week in the run-up to COP28. To ensure integrity and accelerate meaningful progress towards halving global emissions by 2030, Race to Zero sets out robust criteria for all its members to meet. Known as the 5 P’s, these criteria require members to Pledge, Plan, Proceed, Publish, and Persuade. From the 26th June. Race to Zero will share details of the latest ‘P’ added to the criteria, Persuade, which aims to align policy and engagement with halving emissions by 2030 and net zero by 2050.
Employees at organisations have a role in driving solutions to climate change in terms of delivering corporate carbon reduction targets, reducing their impacts, and influencing clients, colleagues, and other stakeholders to deliver sustainable practices.
Giki, as the only Race to Zero Accelerator for employee engagement, recognises the importance of helping organisations support and empower employees to live more sustainably and understand the impact of our everyday choices on climate change and the role organisations can play in accelerating societal decarbonisation at scale.
Organisations in the vanguard of this important emerging strand of sustainability, including Compass UK&I and NatWest Group, have already signed up.
Commenting on the new initiative, Ramiro Fernandez, Campaigns Director of Race to Zero, "As we celebrate our third anniversary of Race to Zero, a key development is the addition of the latest ‘P’ (Persuade) to our criteria. With this, the Race to Zero aims to encourage non-state actors to align their policy and engagement with halving emissions by 2030 and net-zero by 2050. An important aspect of the fifth P is employee engagement on sustainability and net zero. The Employee Race to Zero, organised by Giki, will be held ahead of COP28. It’s an amazing opportunity to help employees learn what they can do for the planet and join a global competition for a fun, focused month of climate action."
Jo Hand, Giki co-founder and Director of Impact said: “Building sustainable behaviours at home and work is key to people taking climate action and helping us all move towards net zero. As many people face a cost-of-living crisis, carbon-cutting steps frequently help with cost savings too. We are looking forward to working with Race to Zero members and their employees because while one step is progress, a large community acting together drives real change.”
Alberto Pardo, Assistant Director at NatWest Group, Global Co-Chair of Sustainable Futures Network. “Empowering colleagues to embed sustainability in all parts of their lives is a key factor in creating the business culture we need to become a leading bank on climate. Over the last few years, we have had thousands of colleagues respond to the need for climate action by signing up to Giki Zero. Looking ahead, COP28 is an important milestone which we should all use to inspire action by everyone.”
Carolyn Ball, Director for Delivery of Net Zero at Compass UK&I:
“Empowering people with knowledge so they know how to make a difference every day, has never been more important. Everyone’s choices matter, and it’s in this spirit that we want to come together as a community - not just as a corporate. Working with Giki and through the Employee Race to Zero gives us the opportunity to do this in an inclusive and measurable way, demystifying climate action so everyone feels empowered to act.”
To find out more or sign-up to get started visit www.giki.earth/join-the-race-to-zero-climate-race or email hello@giki.co.uk.
