CoAct Database

Business Leadership Criteria on Carbon Pricing

The UN Global Compact, together with UNEP, the UNFCCC secretariat, and with the support of Caring for Climate strategic partners – CDP, The Climate Group, UN Foundation and the Principles for Responsible Investment – developed the Business Leadership Criteria on Carbon Pricing.

The Business Leadership Criteria on Carbon Pricing comprise three distinct but overlapping dimensions: integrating carbon pricing into long-term strategies and investment decisions, responsible policy advocacy, and communication on progress. All three dimensions of the criteria are aligned with limiting the increase in global mean temperature to 2° C above preindustrial levels.

Consistent with the 2° C global target, companies are invited to indicate alignment with the following criteria:

1. Set an internal carbon price high enough to materially affect investment decisions to drive down greenhouse gas emissions;
2. Publicly advocate the importance of carbon pricing through policy mechanisms that take into account country specific economies and policy contexts; and
3. Communicate on progress over time on the two criteria above in public corporate reports.

The Business Leadership Criteria on Carbon Pricing recognize corporate champions and help companies maximize the internal and external impact of carbon pricing efforts. It is a platform to share best practices and showcase leadership for policymakers and other stakeholders. It forms one of the cooperative initiatives of the COP21 Lima-Paris Action Agenda, which brings both state and non-state actors together on the global stage to accelerate cooperative climate action now and into the future in support of the new agreement.