Gail Kendall, CLP Holdings
After three years of research, benchmarking, stakeholder engagement, senior management recommended to the Board of Directors’ aggressive targets for decarbonising our electricity generation business from 2007 to 2050. The targets were approved by the Board on 23 October 2007 and announced to the public on 7 December 2007. Emissions data are independently verified and reported timely to the public.
To take such a decisive leadership step, staff worked continuously to educate the workforce and engage with internal and external stakeholders to focus on a more sustainable future. Staff also engaged internationally with policy leaders through the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (and its Electricity Utilities sector project) and the UNFCCC at COP 13 in Bali in 2007.
The key success factors for this effort included:
- commitment of senior management, the CEO, and key members of the Board of Directors to sustainable development;
- clear two-way communication with stakeholders about the issue of climate change, and the role of the electricity industry;
- collaborative research and dialogue with leading electricity utility companies in Africa, Asia, Europe and North America
- engagement of the workforce;
- concurrent development of favourable low-carbon policies by governments in Australia, China and other countries.
