General Motors is First Automaker to Join Growing Group of Businesses Calling for U.S. Policy Action on Climate Change

SAN FRANCISCO, May 1, 2013 /3BL Media/ - Seven more U.S. businesses, including iconic U.S. automaker General Motors, have signed the Climate Declaration, a statement from Ceres and its BICEP (Business for Innovative Climate & Energy Policy) coalition that urges federal policymakers to take action on climate change, asserting that a bold response to the climate challenge is “one of America’s greatest economic opportunities of the 21st century.”

The new signatories of the Climate Declaration were announced today during the annual Ceres Conference in San Francisco and include Autodesk Inc., Burton Snowboards, Eastern Bank, General Motors Co., LUSH, Method Products, Inc. and Novelis. Originally endorsed by 33 businesses and launched in April 2013, the Climate Declaration has now been signed by a total 40 leading businesses that collectively provide approximately 550,000 U.S. jobs and generate a combined annual revenue of approximately $611 billion.

Most notably, the Declaration has earned the support of General Motors, one of the world’s largest automakers and a Ceres network company for more than two decades.

“Everywhere you look there are opportunities to seize the high ground on climate and energy,” said Michael J. Robinson, GM vice president of sustainability and global regulatory affairs. “Indeed, our leaders have been presented with an historic opportunity to create a national energy policy from a position of strength and abundance, while also emphasizing the importance of energy efficiency and renewables. Every day our 200,000-plus GM employees around the world are working to improve the sustainability of our vehicles and the plants that build them. We believe our efforts are making a difference, and clear policies will help drive carbon emissions even lower.”

“Since we launched the Climate Declaration just a few weeks ago, the response from the business community has been overwhelmingly positive,” said Mindy Lubber, president of Ceres. “Companies see climate change as a material issue, and they know that without policy action, even their most ambitious internal carbon-cutting achievements will not be enough. We need smart policy to get solutions to scale and ensure that the technologies and strategies that help us to tackle climate change are developed here in the United States.”

Over the course of an ongoing campaign organized by Ceres and BICEP, other leading businesses, as well as individuals, will be encouraged to sign the Declaration at www.climatedeclaration.us and join the call to action.

Reporters interested in attending the Ceres Conference are encouraged to review the full conference agenda and asked to contact Peyton Fleming, 617-733-6660, fleming@ceres.org. Follow Ceres on Twitter at @CeresNews and the conference via the hashtag #Ceres13.

About Ceres
Ceres is an advocate for sustainability leadership.  Ceres mobilizes a powerful coalition of investors, companies and public interest groups to accelerate and expand the adoption of sustainable business practices and solutions to build a healthy global economy. Ceres also directs the Investor Network on Climate Risk (INCR), a network of 100 institutional investors with collective assets totaling more than $11 trillion. For more information, visit http://www.ceres.org

BICEP (Business for Innovative Climate & Energy Policy), a project of Ceres, is an advocacy coalition of businesses committed to working with policy makers to pass meaningful energy and climate legislation enabling a rapid transition to a low-carbon, 21st century economy – an economy that will create new jobs and stimulate economic growth while stabilizing our planet’s fragile climate. BICEP is a project of Ceres. For more information and a list of member companies visit: http://www.ceres.org/bicep.