Apple CEO Tim Cook's decision to take on climate change could be a turning point for the sustainability movement, argues one environmentalist in an article for the Huffington Post.
A frigid winter and millions of dollars spent by vested oil interests has planted doubts about climate change in the public's mind. But perhaps average Americans will accept climate change as fact, if corporations like Apple embrace the concept,
writes Mike Bellamente, executive director of Climate Counts, which rates corporations on greenhouse gases.
"Perhaps all we really need to inspire people on climate change is for Tim Cook and other titans of industry to join together in a moment of Kumbaya leadership," he says. "That would make for a brave new world indeed."
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Although Apple is being criticized for its sustainability plans, addressing climate change makes sound business sense, he argues.
"These days, it is the company that fails to guard itself against climate change risk that is destined to find itself on the losing end of market share,"
The National Center for Policy Research, an Apple stock owner, criticized Apple for reducing its greenhouse gas emissions and pressed the company to detail costs associated with those endeavors.
"If you want me to do things only for ROI reasons, you should get out of this stock," responded CEO Tim Cook at Apple's annual shareholders meeting.
Cook's comments should convince people that large multi-national corporations face substantial risks from climate change, Bellamente says. Those dangers include operational risk from extreme weather disrupting supply and distribution channels, regulatory risk from governments imposing a price on carbon, and reputational risk from consumers who believe companies should address climate change.
More and more corporations are accepting that climate change will impact their bottom lines, if it isn't already,
The New York Times reports. For instance, Coca-Cola has found that droughts around the world have created shortages of water, sugar cane, sugar beets and other ingredients needed to make its soda.
"Increased droughts, more unpredictable variability, 100-year floods every two years," Coke Vice President for Environment and Water Resources Jeffrey Seabright told the Times. "When we look at our most essential ingredients, we see those events as threats."
Warning that droughts may create shortages of cotton used for its athletic apparel, Nike reported climate change as a risk on financial disclosure forms to the SEC.
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