The pledge was made during the CEO breakfast session chaired by business leader and changemaker, Mr. Paul Polman. The companies FrieslandCampina, Eneco, Port of Rotterdam, Nederlandse Spoorwegen, Compass Group Netherlands, Randstad, Vebego, and Rabobank attended the event and signed the statement. The companies are committed to the Science Based Targets initiative (‘SBTi’) Business Ambition for 1.5⁰C pledge, or the Net-Zero Banking Alliance. Both are official partners of the Race to Zero campaign. The companies committed to having ambitious interim science-based targets aligned with limiting global warming to 1.5°C and/or to reach net-zero global emissions by 2050 at the latest. They realize that more ambition is needed to combat the ever more visible and concrete danger of climate change, and with this commitment they promise to accelerate their decarbonization efforts.
The CEO breakfast was organized on the morning of the Dutch National Sustainability Congress 2021 and on day eleven of the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26). The objective of this CEO breakfast was to build momentum around the shift to a decarbonized economy at COP26, sending national governments a resounding signal that business, cities, regions and investors are united in meeting the Paris goals.
