When JP Morgan Chase announced they had committed to 100 percent renewables by 2020 on July 28, they joined Google, Microsoft, Apple, Facebook, Anheuser Busch, Goldman Sachs, Citi and Bank of America in showing corporate responsibility and a commitment to creating greater economic opportunities and a cleaner, low-carbon future.
According to a study by the MIT Sloan Management Review, just 47 percent of global companies are currently engaged in sustainable practices used in a circular economy. So how does a big, multinational corporation embrace the circular economy, one where resources remain in a perpetual cycle, renewed and reused, rather than wasted after a single use?
JP Morgan Stanley’s approach
With large, global companies, there are sometimes hundreds of other businesses in the supply chain, and a sustainable economy requires partnerships, right? Jason Clay, Senior Vice President of Market Transformation for the World Wildlife Fund, has said: “We need groups to collaborate that never have …. We need to begin to manage this planet as if our life depended on it — because fundamentally, it does,” according to Ozy.com.
In addition to the commitment to achieve total dependence on renewable energy by 2020, the bank is investing in other companies and governments, accelerating the transition to a low-carbon economy, reports GreenBiz. The $200 billion is being called “clean investing.”
“Business must play a leadership role in creating solutions that protect the environment and grow the economy,” said JPMorgan Chase Chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon, in a statement about the new commitment. This means investing in start-ups and more importantly research and development (R&D) in alternative energy sources.
This commitment includes providing risk management solutions to the UK’s Teesside Renewable Energy Plant, which will provide energy for 600,000 homes when it comes online around 2020. And what is really interesting is that the company running the site, MGT Teesside, just opened its doors.
Besides creating hundreds of construction jobs, the venture will also create 100 new jobs when the facility opens for business. Now, this is a good example of sustainability in a circular economy.
Corporate Responsibility – May 2017
Peter L. Scher, JP Morgan Chase’s head of Corporate Responsibility and Chairman of the Greater Washington Region, addressed corporate responsibility and sustainability in our changing world in the JP Morgan Chase Corporate Responsibility Report – May 2017.
Scher writes that one of the universal drivers of inclusive growth is workforce development, providing people with the skills needed to compete in today’s economy. This also includes “small business expansion, financial health, and neighborhood revitalization. The second is that making a real impact requires the private sector to play a much more active role. Companies must leverage their unique assets to help solve problems — not simply give away money and hope for the best.”
