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Ark Investment Management joins SME Climate Hub and commits to halve greenhouse gas emissions before 2030 towards net zero before 2050.

 

Ark Investment Management announced on 8 October 2021 that they have become one of the first companies to join the SME Climate Hub, a new groundbreaking one-stop-shop climate action platform for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to curb carbon emissions, build business resilience and take climate leadership.

 

The SME Climate Hub is co-hosted by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the Exponential Roadmap Initiative, the We Mean Business coalition and the United Nations Race to Zero campaign, and has received support from several supply chain leaders, including BT Group, Ericsson, IKEA, Telia and Unilever, as well as funding support from Amazon and Verizon. Ark has become one of the first signatories to the UN-recognized “SME Climate Commitment”, which forms part of the SME Climate Hub. In making this commitment, Ark has pledged to halve its carbon emissions by 2030, achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 and to regularly report on progress towards these aims. 

 

The SME Climate Hub was launched at the start of the UN General Assembly Week and New York Climate Week by the High Level Climate Action Champion for the United Kingdom, Nigel Topping and has received initial financial support from Amazon and Verizon, through their partnership with theWe Mean Business coalition. The SME Climate Hub will provide SMEs with a range of accessible tools and resources to help them reduce emissions and build business resilience. The platform will couple these tailored resources with opportunities for businesses to unlock direct commercial incentives – from government tax breaks to procurement preferences provided by major businesses such as BT Group, Ericsson, Ikea, Telia and Unilever, who have all agreed to work with their SME suppliers to improve climate performance and also provide concrete tools, share knowledge and exchange best practices for implementing robust climate strategies through the SME Climate Hub.

 

One of the most pressing existential threats to SMEs is climate emergency. It has the potential to slow economic growth by causing material damage; limiting resource availability; causing shifts in demand; leading to business interruptions and production disruptions; causing supply chain interference; and forcing business closures. With 40 to 60 percent of small businesses never reopening after a disaster, curbing carbon emissions and building business resilience is critical.

 

About the SME Climate Hub

 

The SME Climate Hub is an initiative founded by the International Chamber of Commerce, the Exponential Roadmap Initiative, the We Mean Business coalition and the UNFCCC Race to Zero campaign, with the aim of supporting small and medium-sized businesses to build business resilience. The SME Climate Hub provides a one-stop-shop for SMEs to commit to climate action and access tools, incentives and other resources designed to make it easier than ever for small and medium-sized businesses to cut carbon emissions, bring innovative green solutions to market and build business resilience.

 

About the SME Climate Commitment

 

The SME Climate Hub provides any business with less than 500 employees with the opportunity to publicly demonstrate its commitment to climate action by signing the SME Climate Commitment. Making the commitment means that your business will start to take immediate climate action in order to:

1. Halve greenhouse gas emissions before 2030

2. Achieve net zero emissions before 2050

3. Disclose progress on a yearly basis