Transition to a global low-carbon economy propelled by strategies to reduce carbon emissions and lessen negative impacts from climate change is being supported through a range of initiatives, including RE100, EP100, EV100, and WGBC NZB.

Each initiative has specific goals and are guided by the Climate Group and the World Green Building Council. Here’s a brief breakdown of each.

RE100

RE100 is global corporate renewable energy initiative that has attracted many large businesses which have a commitment to using 100% renewable electricity. (1)

Members span sectors from manufacturing and pharmaceuticals to fashion and technology. One ambition is to show markets and governments that there is strong business demand for renewable electricity.

R100 says that its mission is “to accelerate change towards zero carbon grids at scale.” (1)

RE100 was set up in partnership with the Climate Disclosure Project (CDP) a decade ago during Climate Week NYC and now has 400+ members with  500+ TWh annually committed to 100% renewables.

Member companies set a public goal to consume 100% renewable electricity in-line with the RE100 technical criteria by a target year. They report to the initiative every year with CDP managing  the reporting exercise, producing  RE100 annual disclosure reports derived from it.

The RE100 Advisory Committee provides expert insight and advice around plans, proposals and external opportunities.

EP100

EP100 is a global corporate initiative, also led by Climate Group, that has attracted businesses committed to improving energy efficiency. (2) Members commit to doubling their energy productivity, rolling out energy management systems, or achieving net zero carbon buildings.

The EP100 advises: “Through public commitments, and driving towards those targets, companies can show climate leadership and send a powerful signal to policymakers and other businesses about the enormous climate potential of energy efficiency.” (2)

The companies operate in 157 markets and have saved $1.6 USD billion whilst reducing their emissions by more than the annual emissions of the UK and Belgium combined. (2)

Companies can join the group by:

• Implementing an energy management system within 10 years

• Doubling energy productivity within 25 years.

• Committing to own, occupy and develop net zero carbon operational assets by 2030.

Energy productivity is the ratio of economic output to energy consumption. (2) EP100 can commit to double their economic output from every unit of energy consumed within their operations globally, which can be seen as the group’s most ambitious pathway.

By improving the energy used in their buildings, processes, and products, EP100 members can also demonstrate climate leadership and future-proof their businesses. Members can save money, reduce risk, and meet expectations of shareholders. 

At the same time, they can help to meet  net zero carbon emissions goals by 2050. 

EV100

EV100 is a global initiative that encourages companies to adopt to electric vehicles (EV) by 2030, overseen by the Climate Group. (3) 

It brings together and helps to support businesses that commit to switching owned and contracted fleets up to 3.5 tonnes and 50% of their fleet between 3.5 and 7 tonnes to electric vehicles while also installing charging infrastructure for employees and customers, by the end of this decade.

The initiative states: “EV100 members are increasing demand, influencing policy, and driving mass roll-out - helping to make electric vehicles more rapidly affordable for everyone.” (3)

It has recently launched EV100+ which focuses on zero emission medium and heavy-duty vehicles (MHDV). The initiative says these vehicles are a disproportionate source of global greenhouse gas emissions. Representing just 4% of global road vehicles, MHDVs produced over 5% of the total global CO2 emissions in 2019, which is predicted to increase to over 11% by 2050 if action is not taken (3)

EV100 advises that to achieve the objectives of the Paris Agreement, MHDVs must be completely decarbonised with all new trucks sold in the world’s major markets needing to be zero-emission by 2040. EV100+ members will lead the way by committing to decarbonising their owned and contracted fleet by 2040. (3)

The initiative promotes the benefits of electric vehicles, underling that they are already cheaper to run than fossil fuel vehicles and will be cheaper to buy in just a few years

World Green Building Council Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment (WGBCNZB)

The World Green Building Council (WGBC) developed the Net Zero Buildings (NZB) in partnership with the Climate Group’s EP100 initiative, along with the Alliance to Save Energy as part of the We Mean Business coalition. (4)

The NZB aims to promote advanced climate leadership action by  businesses, organisations, cities and subnational governments to decarbonise the built environment while encouraging others to take similar action and remove barriers to implementation.

Commitment signatories includes 130 businesses and organisations with $400bn annual turnover, 27 cities, as well as 6 states and regions, with a target to reduce operational and embodied carbon emissions in the building and construction sector.

The WGBC advises: “A bold approach is urgently required to reduce the impacts of the sector, which is globally responsible for 35% of energy consumption, 38% of energy related carbon emissions, 50% of resource consumption, and expected to double in total footprint by 2060.

“This requires deep collaboration across the entire value chain, and radical transformation in the way buildings are designed, built, occupied and deconstructed. It requires new business models that promote circularity, re-use of buildings and materials, whole life cycle thinking, high performance operations, and ultimately a shift away from fossil fuels.” (4)

The NZB embraces the whole lifecycle impact of buildings and builds on the WGBC’s  “Whole Life Carbon Vision” and best practice principles for implementation. As part of the “Sustainable Buildings for Everyone, Everywhere” strategy.

NZB Commitments:

• Commit

• Disclose

• Act

• Verify

• Advocate

The Commitment requires that by 2030:

• Existing buildings reduce their energy consumption and eliminate emissions from energy and refrigerants removing fossil fuel use as fast as practicable (where applicable). Where necessary, compensate for residual emissions.

• New developments and major renovations are built to be highly efficient, powered by renewables, with a maximum reduction in embodied carbon and compensation of all residual upfront emissions. (4)

The commitment promotes a “reduction-first, outcomes-based” approach, with signatories able to develop tailored action plans suited to specific portfolio profiles that harness based best practice principles for reducing consumption and emissions

Signatories commit to report annually of verified progress towards decarbonisation goals, gathering data to inform low carbon choices, with relevant benchmarks and targets

The WGBC advocates halving emissions of the building and construction sector by 2030 and the total decarbonisation of the sector by 2050, with best practice methods incorporated, associated costs reduced, and greater uptake.

Conclusion

SaveMoneyCutCarbon’s view is that the RE100, EP100, EV100, and WGBC NZB are leading the way in shaping corporate climate commitments and driving sustainability by targeting emissions and energy usage within buildings, as well as transport. The initiatives share a common goal of supporting the transition to a low-carbon global economy and meeting Net Zero targets by 2050.

Bibliography

1 “About Us” (Accessed February 2025)  https://www.there100.org/about-us

2 “About EP100” (Accessed February 2025) https://www.theclimategroup.org/about-ep100

3 “About EV100” (Accessed February 2025) https://www.theclimategroup.org/about-ev100

4“The Net Zero Carbon Buildings Commitment” (Accessed February 2025) https://worldgbc.org/thecommitment/