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News | Gütersloh/New York, 03.12.2019

Thomas Rabe unterzeichnet Klimaschutz-Aufruf

Mehr als 70 internationale CEOs und US-Gewerkschaftsvertreter setzen sich für den Kampf gegen den Klimawandel ein. Einer von ihnen ist Thomas Rabe. Zusammen mit den Chefs von Apple, Adidas, Google, Microsoft, Tesla und vielen anderen hat er einen Appell an die US-Regierung unterzeichnet, doch nicht aus dem Pariser Klimaabkommen auszusteigen

In einem bis dato einzigartigen Schulterschluss und einem eindringlichen Appell bekennen sich mehr als 70 internationale CEOs mit großen Geschäftsaktivitäten in den USA und führende Vertreter US-amerikanischer Gewerkschaften zur Notwendigkeit der Bekämpfung des Klimawandels. Konkret fordern sie die Vereinigten Staaten auf, sich nicht als einziges Land der Erde aus dem Pariser Klimaabkommen von 2015 und damit von seinen existenziell wichtigen Zielen zu verabschieden. Unter den CEOs, die diesen Appell unterschrieben haben, ist auch Thomas Rabe. Der Vorstandsvorsitzende von Bertelsmann findet sich in bester Gesellschaft. Mit ihm unterzeichnet haben beispielsweise die CEOs Tim Cook (Apple), Kasper Rørsted (Adidas), Sundar Pichai (Google), Satya Nadella (Microsoft) und Elon Musk (Tesla).

„Das Versprechen des Pariser Klimaabkommens ist das Versprechen einer gerechten und wohlhabenden Welt“, schreiben die CEOs, deren Unternehmen mehr als zwei Millionen Mitarbeiter in den USA beschäftigen, und die Gewerkschaftsführer, die 12,5 Millionen Beschäftigte in den USA vertreten. Sie fahren fort:. „Wir bitten die Vereinigten Staaten dringend, an diesem Abkommen festzuhalten.“ Angesichts neuer Hitzerekorde im Land, verheerender Hurrikans an den Küsten und zerstörerischer Waldbrände gelte es, keine Zeit mehr zu verschwenden. Und zwar im Sinne der Umwelt und einer lebenswerten Erde genauso wie im Interesse einer funktionierenden Wirtschaft. Die Wettbewerbsfähigkeit der USA und ihrer Unternehmen hänge nicht zuletzt von einem erfolgreichen Klimaschutz ab, genauso wie die Schaffung eines gesunden Arbeitsumfelds für Beschäftigte und ihre Familien.

Die Unterzeichner erklären, mit ihrem Appell die Meinung von 77 Prozent der amerikanischen Wähler sowie von mehr als 4.000 Städten, Bundesstaaten und Unternehmen der USA zu vertreten, die das Pariser Klimaabkommen unterstützen. Verabschiedet worden war dieses Abkommen von der UN-Klimakonferenz am 12. Dezember 2015. Bis Ende 2017 traten ihm alle Staaten der Erde bei. Die zentrale Vereinbarung des Abkommens sieht vor, die globale Erwärmung der Erde auf deutlich unter zwei Grad Celsius gegenüber vorindustriellen Werten zu begrenzen. Mitte 2017 kündigten die USA als einziges Land den Austritt aus dem Abkommen für das Jahr 2020 an.

Ist der Verbleib der Vereinigten Staaten das Kernanliegen des Aufrufs der 70 CEOs und der Gewerkschaftsführer zum Start der Weltklimakonferenz in Madrid, so sieht Bertelsmann neben der Politik seit Langem auch das Unternehmen selbst in der Verantwortung für den Schutz von Klima und Umwelt. Zahlreiche Maßnahmen in allen Unternehmen leisten heute ihren Beitrag zur Schonung von Ressourcen, zur Reduktion klimaschädlicher Emissionen sowie zum Einsatz umweltfreundlicher Technologien und Rohstoffe. Konkret hat Bertelsmann im Geschäftsjahr 2018 wie berichtet sowohl beim Klimaschutz als auch bei der nachhaltigen Papierbeschaffung erneut deutliche Fortschritte erzielt. So ist der Anteil der Papiermengen aus nachhaltiger Beschaffung auf 92 Prozent gestiegen. Die Treibhausgasemissionen konnten im Vergleich zum Vorjahr um sieben Prozent reduziert werden.

Lesen Sie hier den Brief der CEOs und Gewerkschaftsvertreter im Wortlaut:

Joint Labor Union and CEO Statement on the Paris Agreement

We the undersigned are a group of CEOs who employ more than 2 million people in the United States and union leaders who represent 12.5 million workers. Together, we know that driving progress on addressing climate change is what’s best for the economic health, jobs, and competitiveness of our companies and our country.
In 2017, many of us came together to rally behind the US’ participation in the Paris Agreement. We came together to say we are still in. Two years ago, the impacts of climbing global temperatures were clear. Today, with record temperatures across the country, fiercer hurricanes pummeling coasts, more destructive wildfires, droughts and flooding disrupting the economy, we have no time to waste.
Two years ago, we knew that supporting the Paris Agreement was what was needed to help keep companies competitive and thriving under the shifting expectations of Americans. We stand with the 77% of registered American voters and over 4,000 American states, cities and businesses supporting the Paris Agreement.

Today, we stand by our conviction that a commitment to the Paris Agreement requires a just transition of the workforce—one that respects labor rights and is achieved through dialogue with workers and their unions. Participation in the Paris Agreement enables us to plan for a just transition and create new decent, family-supporting jobs and economic opportunity.
Staying in the Paris Agreement will strengthen our competitiveness in global markets, positioning the United States to lead the deployment of new technologies that support the transition, provide for our workers and communities, and create jobs and companies built to last.
It also supports investment by setting clear goals which enable long-term planning. It encourages innovation to achieve emissions reductions at low cost.
There has been progress, but not enough. This moment calls for greater, more accelerated action than we’ve seen. It calls for the strong policy framework the Paris Agreement provides, one that allows the US the freedom to choose our own path to emissions reductions
.

The promise of the Paris Agreement is one of a just and prosperous world. We urge the United States to join us in staying in.

Unterschrieben haben an dieser Stelle folgende Unternehmenslenkerinnen und -lenker sowie Gewerkschaftsvertreter und -vertreterinnen

  • Stuart Applebaum, Executive Council & Chair of International Committee, AFL-CIO (The AFL-CIO is the US national union federation that represents more than 12.5 million working people in the United States)
  • Michel Aballea, Chief Executive Officer, Decathlon and Michel d’Humières, Chief Executive Officer, Decathlon USA
  • Jean-Paul Agon, Chairman and CEO, L’Oréal
  • Andrew Anagnost, President and Chief Executive Officer, Autodesk
  • Douglas M. Baker Jr., Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, Ecolab
  • Ajay Banga, President and CEO, Mastercard
  • Keith Barr, CEO, InterContinental Hotels Group®
  • Oliver Bäte, Chairman of the Board of Management (CEO), Allianz SE
  • Marc Benioff, Founder, Chairman and Co-CEO, Salesforce
  • Chip Bergh, President and Chief Executive Officer, Levi Strauss & Co.
  • Aneel Bhusri, CEO, Workday, Inc.
  • Marco Bizzarri, President and CEO, Gucci
  • Alessandro Bogliolo, CEO, Tiffany & Co.
  • Sir Richard Branson, Founder, Virgin Group
  • Jesper Brodin, CEO, Ingka (incl. IKEA Retail US)
  • Mike Cannon-Brookes, and Scott Farquhar, Co-Founders and Co-CEOs, Atlassian
  • Greg Case, Chief Executive Officer, Aon plc
  • Mr N. Chandrasekaran, Chairman, Tata Sons
  • Manny Chirico, Chairman & CEO, PVH Corp.
  • Tim Cook, CEO, Apple
  • Michael L. Corbat, CEO, Citigroup Inc.
  • Lloyd H. Dean and Kevin E. Lofton, Chief Executive Officers, CommonSpirit Health
  • Marc Doyle, CEO, Dupont
  • Ferruccio Ferragamo, Executive Chairman, Salvatore Ferragamo S.p.A.
  • Robert Fisher, Chairman and Interim CEO, Gap Inc.
  • Jim Fitterling, Chief Executive Officer, Dow, Inc
  • Mario Greco, Group Chief Executive Officer, Zurich Insurance Group
  • Mauricio Gutierrez, President and Chief Executive Officer, NRG Energy
  • Ralph Hamers, CEO & Chairman, ING Group
  • Arianna Huffington, Founder and CEO, Thrive Global
  • Robert A. Iger, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, The Walt Disney Company
  • Ralph Izzo, Chairman, President and CEO, Public Service Enterprise Group
  • William D. Johnson, CEO and President, PG&E Corporation; Director, Pacific Gas and Electric Company
  • Alan Jope, CEO, Unilever
  • James K. Kamsickas, CEO & President, Dana Incorporated
  • Patricia K. Poppe, President & Chief Executive Officer, CMS Energy
  • Isabelle Kocher, CEO, ENGIE
  • Ramon Laguarta, Chairman and CEO, PepsiCo
  • Michael W. Lamach, Chairman and CEO, Trane-Thermo King-Ingersoll Rand
  • Enrique Lores, CEO, HP Inc.
  • Patrice Louvet, President & CEO, Ralph Lauren Corp.
  • David W. MacLennan, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, Cargill
  • Rose Marcario, Chief Executive Officer & President, Patagonia
  • Roberto Marques, Executive Chairman, Natura &Co
  • Mari McClure, Incoming CEO, Green Mountain Power Corporation and Mary Powell, CEO, Green Mountain Power Corporation
  • Brian Moynihan, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Bank of America
  • Elon Musk, Co-founder and CEO, Tesla, Inc.
  • Satya Nadella, Chief Executive Officer, Microsoft Corporation
  • Shantanu Narayen, Chairman and CEO, Adobe
  • Christopher J. Nassetta, President & CEO, Hilton
  • José Neves, Founder, Co-Chairman and CEO, Farfetch
  • John Pettigrew, CEO, National Grid plc
  • Sundar Pichai, CEO, Google
  • François-Henri Pinault, Chairman and CEO, Kering
  • Pedro J. Pizarro, President and CEO, Edison International
  • Patrick Pouyanne, Chairman & CEO, Total
  • James Quincey, Chairman and CEO, The Coca-Cola Company
  • Thomas Rabe, Chairman and CEO, Bertelsmann
  • Grant F. Reid, CEO and President, Mars Incorporated
  • Pier Pablo Righi, Chief Executive Officer, Karl Lagerfeld
  • Ginni Rometty, CEO, IBM
  • Kasper Rørsted, Chief Executive Officer, Adidas
  • Mark Schneider, Chief Executive Officer, Nestlé
  • Feike Sijbesma, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Managing Board, Royal DSM
  • David Solomon, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Goldman Sachs
  • Esteve Torrens, CEO, Stonyfield Farm, Inc.
  • Jean-Pascal Tricoire, Chairman & CEO, Schneider Electric
  • Hamdi Ulukaya, Founder, Chairman and CEO, Chobani
  • Ben van Beurden, Chief Executive Officer, Royal Dutch Shell PLC
  • Hans Van Bylen, Chief Executive Officer, Henkel
  • Dirk Van de Put, Chairman and CEO, Mondelez International
  • Hans Vestberg, Chairman and CEO, Verizon
  • Peter Voser, Chairman and CEO, ABB LTD
  • Wendell Weeks, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Corning Incorporated
  • Lawson Whiting, Chief Executive Officer, Brown-Forman Corporation
  • Stuart Applebaum, Executive Council & Chair of International Committee, AFL-CIO (The AFL-CIO is the US national union federation that represents more than 12.5 million working people in the United States)
  • Michel Aballea, Chief Executive Officer, Decathlon and Michel d’Humières, Chief Executive Officer, Decathlon USA
  • Jean-Paul Agon, Chairman and CEO, L’Oréal
  • Andrew Anagnost, President and Chief Executive Officer, Autodesk
  • Douglas M. Baker Jr., Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, Ecolab
  • Ajay Banga, President and CEO, Mastercard
  • Keith Barr, CEO, InterContinental Hotels Group®
  • Oliver Bäte, Chairman of the Board of Management (CEO), Allianz SE
  • Marc Benioff, Founder, Chairman and Co-CEO, Salesforce
  • Chip Bergh, President and Chief Executive Officer, Levi Strauss & Co.
  • Aneel Bhusri, CEO, Workday, Inc.
  • Marco Bizzarri, President and CEO, Gucci
  • Alessandro Bogliolo, CEO, Tiffany & Co.
  • Sir Richard Branson, Founder, Virgin Group
  • Jesper Brodin, CEO, Ingka (incl. IKEA Retail US)
  • Mike Cannon-Brookes, and Scott Farquhar, Co-Founders and Co-CEOs, Atlassian
  • Greg Case, Chief Executive Officer, Aon plc
  • Mr N. Chandrasekaran, Chairman, Tata Sons
  • Manny Chirico, Chairman & CEO, PVH Corp.
  • Tim Cook, CEO, Apple
  • Michael L. Corbat, CEO, Citigroup Inc.
  • Lloyd H. Dean and Kevin E. Lofton, Chief Executive Officers, CommonSpirit Health
  • Marc Doyle, CEO, Dupont
  • Ferruccio Ferragamo, Executive Chairman, Salvatore Ferragamo S.p.A.
  • Robert Fisher, Chairman and Interim CEO, Gap Inc.
  • Jim Fitterling, Chief Executive Officer, Dow, Inc
  • Mario Greco, Group Chief Executive Officer, Zurich Insurance Group
  • Mauricio Gutierrez, President and Chief Executive Officer, NRG Energy
  • Ralph Hamers, CEO & Chairman, ING Group
  • Arianna Huffington, Founder and CEO, Thrive Global
  • Robert A. Iger, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, The Walt Disney Company
  • Ralph Izzo, Chairman, President and CEO, Public Service Enterprise Group
  • William D. Johnson, CEO and President, PG&E Corporation; Director, Pacific Gas and Electric Company
  • Alan Jope, CEO, Unilever
  • James K. Kamsickas, CEO & President, Dana Incorporated
  • Patricia K. Poppe, President & Chief Executive Officer, CMS Energy
  • Isabelle Kocher, CEO, ENGIE
  • Ramon Laguarta, Chairman and CEO, PepsiCo
  • Michael W. Lamach, Chairman and CEO, Trane-Thermo King-Ingersoll Rand
  • Enrique Lores, CEO, HP Inc.
  • Patrice Louvet, President & CEO, Ralph Lauren Corp.
  • David W. MacLennan, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, Cargill
  • Rose Marcario, Chief Executive Officer & President, Patagonia
  • Roberto Marques, Executive Chairman, Natura &Co
  • Mari McClure, Incoming CEO, Green Mountain Power Corporation and Mary Powell, CEO, Green Mountain Power Corporation
  • Brian Moynihan, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Bank of America
  • Elon Musk, Co-founder and CEO, Tesla, Inc.
  • Satya Nadella, Chief Executive Officer, Microsoft Corporation
  • Shantanu Narayen, Chairman and CEO, Adobe
  • Christopher J. Nassetta, President & CEO, Hilton
  • José Neves, Founder, Co-Chairman and CEO, Farfetch
  • John Pettigrew, CEO, National Grid plc
  • Sundar Pichai, CEO, Google
  • François-Henri Pinault, Chairman and CEO, Kering
  • Pedro J. Pizarro, President and CEO, Edison International
  • Patrick Pouyanne, Chairman & CEO, Total
  • James Quincey, Chairman and CEO, The Coca-Cola Company
  • Thomas Rabe, Chairman and CEO, Bertelsmann
  • Grant F. Reid, CEO and President, Mars Incorporated
  • Pier Pablo Righi, Chief Executive Officer, Karl Lagerfeld
  • Ginni Rometty, CEO, IBM
  • Kasper Rørsted, Chief Executive Officer, Adidas
  • Mark Schneider, Chief Executive Officer, Nestlé
  • Feike Sijbesma, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Managing Board, Royal DSM
  • David Solomon, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Goldman Sachs
  • Esteve Torrens, CEO, Stonyfield Farm, Inc.
  • Jean-Pascal Tricoire, Chairman & CEO, Schneider Electric
  • Hamdi Ulukaya, Founder, Chairman and CEO, Chobani
  • Ben van Beurden, Chief Executive Officer, Royal Dutch Shell PLC
  • Hans Van Bylen, Chief Executive Officer, Henkel
  • Dirk Van de Put, Chairman and CEO, Mondelez International
  • Hans Vestberg, Chairman and CEO, Verizon
  • Peter Voser, Chairman and CEO, ABB LTD
  • Wendell Weeks, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Corning Incorporated
  • Lawson Whiting, Chief Executive Officer, Brown-Forman Corporation