Nike, Starbucks, Unilever, Microsoft join hands to combat global carbon emissions

Nike Inc., Starbucks Corp., Unilever NV, Microsoft Corp., and five other leading firms from various sectors are collaborating in a program dubbed “Transform to Net Zero” to help businesses globally achieve zero carbon emissions.

The other group members are German automaker Mercedes-Benz AG, top shipping container firm A.P. Moller - Maersk A/S, French food group Danone, Indian tech firm Wipro Ltd, and Brazilian cosmetics maker Natura & Co.

The group will recruit other members, collaborate with the Environmental Defense Fund, and focus on providing businesses with guidance, research, and blueprints to achieve zero carbon emissions by 2050.

The announcement outlined initial research and work to be completed over the next five years but gave no details of investment the companies would make.

Some targets include reductions across the entire value chain, such as the impact of products and services.

It also included substantial commitment and willingness to invest in and speed up innovation.

Companies have so far fallen short of the UN targets on emissions.

In January, Microsoft announced its plan to be carbon negative, pledging to remove as much carbon as it has emitted while allocating $1 billion to create a “Climate Innovation Fund” geared towards developing carbon removal technology.