%0 Generic
%A Ruiz Manuel, Ivan
%D 2022
%T Dataset: Emissions, Energy Use and Climate Targets of Fortune G500 companies in the SBTi and RE100 initiatives
%U https://data.4tu.nl/articles/dataset/Dataset_Emissions_Energy_Use_and_Climate_Targets_of_Fortune_G500_companies_in_the_SBTi_and_RE100_initiatives/16616965/3
%R 10.4121/16616965.v3
%K Climate Change mitigation
%K non-state actors
%K Ex-post evaluation
%K initiatives
%K international cooperation
%K renewable energy
%X Several studies have posed that international 
cooperative initiatives lead by businesses could aid in mitigating 
global warming in ways that are additional to national policies. 
However, evaluations on their progress are rare due to many 
informational issues. This research gap is worrisome since such 
initiatives can also have negative effects on global commitment due to 
effort fragmentation and greenwashing.<br><br>This thesis evaluates 
progress in two initiatives that have featured prominently in the 
literature: the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) and RE100. The 
group of companies evaluated was reduced to the Fortune Global 500, a 
ranking of the largest firms by revenue. <br><br>Large datasets were 
created with the targets set by these companies, their emissions and 
energy use, among others. Progress was evaluated in four aspects: the 
ambition of targets, the robustness of their disclosure of 
sustainability metrics, the implementation of changes to their energy 
profiles, and finally the substantive progress seen in their collective 
carbon footprint.<br><br>It was found that among the two initiatives, 
SBTi appears posed for larger emissions mitigation, while RE100 is 
better at promoting more effective renewable energy purchasing 
practices. However, direct emission reductions are mostly concentrated 
on a reduced number of firms in energy intensive sectors, with the 
remaining members focusing on reductions through indirect methods that 
might not be additional at the global level. Similarly, it was found 
that informational barriers remain high even in these firms, with a 
plethora of inconsistencies that complicate year-by-year comparisons.
%I 4TU.ResearchData