Corporate officials express support for EPA’s Clean Power Plan

Officials from 365 companies -- including General Mills, Mars, Nestle Staples, Unilever and Ceres -- and their investors sent a letter supporting the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Clean Power Plan to 29 state governors across the nation today.

“Our support is firmly grounded in economic reality,” the letter said. “Clean energy solutions are cost-effective and innovative ways to drive investment and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Increasingly, businesses rely on renewable energy and energy-efficiency solutions to cut costs and improve corporation performance.”

The joint letter represents the largest show of support for the plan from the business sector, with signatories based in all 50 states and ranging from small enterprises to Fortune 500 companies. This follows an evolution of business energy use, with a 2014 study conducted by Ceres, Calvert Investments and the World Wildlife Fund finding that 60 percent of Forune 100 companies have saved set clean energy targets leading to savings of over $1 billion.

“More than ever, businesses and investors are waking up to the threat of climate change and the urgency for low-carbon solutions that make strong economic sense,” Ceres President Mindy Lubber said. “The Clean Power Plan speaks to these growing business concerns by providing certainty and flexibility in building their own clean energy strategies.”