Nike, Starbucks form Climate Coalition

A new business coalition on climate change was formed last week by Nike, Starbucks, Levi Strauss, and Sun Microsystems. The companies say they are prepared to lobby on climate and environmental legislation.

The coalition, dubbed

BICEP’s agenda includes a requirement that 20 percent of the nation’s electricity be generated by renewable sources by 2020; a goal of reducing greenhouse emissions to 25 percent below 1990 levels by 2020; and a cap-and-trade emissions scheme, a policy supported by President-elect Barack Obama that places a limit on greenhouse emissions and lets businesses buy and trade emissions credits.

The coalition was assembled by Ceres, an environmental group that seeks to work with corporations and investors to push for environmental policy change. Ceres says it is acting as policy coordinator for the group and that it is hiring a DC-based director of government relations to aid in BICEP’s lobbying efforts, though the financial commitment from BICEP’s members remains unclear.