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68 new companies joined the Obama administration's American Business Act on Climate Pledge and vowed to reduce its carbon footprint, the White House announced today. Apparel and beauty brands like Levi's, Target, Nike, and L'Oréal are all part of the new crop of companies that made a variety of different pledges to reduce detrimental effects on the environment.
Each company submitted a fact sheet that promised a certain amount of reduction. Levi's, for example, wants to get its greenhouse gas emissions down 25% by 2020. Nike plans to reduce its energy consumption by 20% over the next ten years and has also partnered with MIT Climate CoLab in order to find "new ideas for engaging industries, designers and consumers in valuing, demanding and adopting low-impact materials," according to WWD.
Target also vowed to make sure 80% of its stores are Energy Star certified, use 2,000% more solar panels to power stores and distribution centers, and to prevent 70% of its waste from hitting landfills by utilizing reuse or recycled programs — which are already being used by brands like Levi's, H&M, and Puma.
Other non-apparel companies like Procter & Gamble, Disney, Coca-Cola, General Motors, Microsoft, Kellogg's, McDonald's, and UPS also joined the program. Walmart was one of the original 13 companies to participate. There are now 81 companies involved total. When fully in place, the plan will reduce 6 billion tons of carbon pollution by 2030, which is "equivalent to taking all the cars in the United States off the road for more than four years," according to the White House press release.