Disney Announces Plan to Reduce Carbon Emissions

The Walt Disney Company has announced plans to reduce CO2 emission output from its fuels by 50 per cent over the next three years, with the ultimate aim of reducing the greenhouse gas emissions released across its spectrum of operations – including theme parks and office buildings – to nil.

Disney simultaneously pledged to reduce its landfill waste to nothing – waste that, in 2006, amounted to almost 300,000 tons. It also said it would cut back on how much water it was using, along with waste and CO2 emissions connected with the construction, transportation, consumption and throwing-away of its products.

Disney’s Environmental Goals

Disney’s environmental goals, stressed company executives, were not intended to be short-term achievable. No “definite time horizon” had been set on achieving zero-emission status, Disney’s Environmental Affairs Senior Vice President, Beth Stevens, stated, adding: “We set those [aims] because they were very aspirational...we thought it was important ... to communicate a sense of commitment.”

Disney’s is the latest in a series of environmental pledges being made by US uber-firms. It came within a “corporate responsibility” document, issued one day prior to the company’s yearly shareholder meeting.

In this document, Disney’s standing within the modern-day world was contextualised.

“Current scientific conclusions indicate that urgent reductions in greenhouse gas emissions are required to avert accelerated climate change”, it said.

“A successful response to these challenges demands fundamental changes in the way society, including businesses, use natural resources, and Disney is no exception.”

Renewable Energy Projects

According to the report, Disney’s electrical consumption in 2013 is scheduled to be 10 per cent lower than in 2006, while it also intends to focus strongly on renewable energy projects.

Its zero emissions target, meanwhile, will be achieved through substituting high-carbon fuels with alternatives, and employing what it terms “high-quality offsets” for the remainder.

Conservation methods will also take place, the report wrote, along with funding into clean electricity ventures.

"Meeting the goal will require minimizing waste, increasing and improving aggressive recycling and other disposal mitigation programs, and sourcing high-recycled content and highly recyclable products", it said.

Disney Chief Financial Officer/ Senior Executive Vice President Thomas O. Staggs added: “While Disney has always been a leader in environmental stewardship, we are taking ambitious steps to help preserve our planet for future generations.”