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20 April 2021
Hundreds of tech companies set to take climate action
© Leaders for Climate Action

Hundreds of tech companies launch appeal for climate action

This Earth Day, over 200 leading tech companies are hoping to reach over 50 million people with the Time for Climate Action campaign.

A number of organisations are set to renew their commitments to the planet on Earth Day (this Thursday) – taking measurable climate action themselves and urging their customers to do the same. Companies including Spotify, Ecosia, Blablacar, Cabify and Canva will take part in the Time for Climate Action initiative – organised by non-profit Leaders for Climate Action

Leaders for Climate Action is a group of 1,200 digital entrepreneurs, seeking to make the tech ecosystem totally climate neutral. The aim of the campaign – which spans this week, but focuses on Thursday – is to incentivise one million meaningful actions for the planet. 

How? Participating companies will disclose their own carbon footprint, and use their reach and resources to direct customers to two primary channels. 

On the main campaign page, visitors will be able to quickly and easily make eco-friendly changes. Leaders for Climate Action will facilitate visitors in shifting to a renewable power supplier or a green bank account, demanding change from their politicians, and more. 

Time for Climate Action website with contributors

Many of the participating companies will also have built eco-friendly features into their own products or services. Spotify, for example, will be promoting environmental content and linking the campaign page to listeners throughout the week. Cabify has created a climate action calendar with weekly tips, and Blablacar will be running an education programme on eco-friendly driving.

“We are happy to take part in this important campaign for climate action and to encourage our 90 million members to adopt sustainable driving practices, in order to further minimise the impact of travel”, says its cofounder and CEO Nicolas Brusson. 

On a more general level, each participating company is either carbon neutral already – or has pledged to become carbon neutral by the end of 2021, at least on an operational level. Leaders  for Climate Action requires that they have implemented carbon reduction measures to date and have a coherent climate protection plan. 

For the campaign group’s cofounder Timo Müller:

“For many companies in our ecosystem, reducing emissions is simply not enough.” 

“If we want to have a significant impact, we need to ask ourselves what else we can do. Activating our customers and partners is one way of doing this.”