These Businesses Have Signed a White House Pledge to Address Climate Change

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Sitting alongside top executives from the country's biggest corporations, President Barack Obama announced on Monday that the United States, allied with some heavy hitters from the business community, would take steps to tackle climate change without breaking the bottom line of American companies.

Eighty-one corporations have signed the American Business Act on Climate pledge, which is intended to combat international climate change and consolidate a business-friendly position on the issue ahead of UN climate talks in Paris later this year. In his comments following the signing of the pledge, Obama bucked the notion that addressing climate change was something inherently in conflict with business interests.

"The perception is that this is an environmental issue, it's for tree huggers, and that hard-headed businesspeople either don't care about it or see it as a conflict with their bottom lines," Obama said. "For these companies, they're discovering that it can enhance their bottom line."

While the White House expects more companies to sign the pledge in the weeks leading up to the Paris, those who have made the pledge collectively encompass an estimated 9 million employees and $5 trillion worth of market capital. Google, Goldman Sachs, Coca-Cola, Monsanto, and General Motors are among those who have signed the commitment, which calls for self-reported, voluntary reductions. Specific goals set by companies include reducing emissions by 50 percent, reducing water usage by as much as 80 percent, and purchasing 100 percent renewable energy.

"I think anytime you see dozens of Fortune 500 companies step out publicly with commitments, it's a strong signal that climate change is a major issue for them," said Kevin Moss, Global Director of the World Resources Institute's Business Center. "The sorts of companies we were seeing yesterday take a global, rather than national view — they want consistency and fairness around the world."

While authorities and others in the sustainable business community are applauding the pledge as a shift in corporate attitudes towards the environment, others remain unconvinced that the pledge is much more than lip service on behalf of large polluters.

For Katherine Sawyer, international climate organizer at Corporate Accountability International, the attention on corporate reductions has replaced meaningful domestic policies that would reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

"Many of the world's biggest polluters have taken notice and are scrambling to get on the right side of history, but voluntary corporate commitments are not the solution," said Sawyer. "These corporate agreements are increasingly present in climate talks and allow corporations to greenwash their brands while deflecting their often massive role in driving climate change."

The American Business Act on Climate comes on the heels of other climate-related announcements and initiatives launched by the White House, including limiting greenhouse gas emissions from new and existing power plants and from the transportation sector.

But some Republican leaders are calling those goals unreasonable and potentially harmful to the American economy. Oklahoma Senator James Inhofe, chairman of the US Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, released a statement expressing skepticism towards the international climate talks.

"Despite the often heralded claim by the administration that [it's emissions reduction plan] is meant to 'facilitate the clarity, transparency, and understanding' of its commitments, the administration has yet to provide basic information," Inhofe said.

Related: Obama's Steep New Emissions Rules Praised as 'Great Advance,' Scorned as 'Power Grab'

With the Paris talks fast approaching, Moss sees the Monday pledge as a recognition that American companies are supporting government action on a global scale, and that governments, in turn, may be able to make more progress at the conversations with such large-scale support from the business community.

"This is particularly important because it is American business, standing by the American government — in the past, we have seen European companies leading the way," he said. "Companies are putting these pledges out there on the public record, and that's of interest to us because there are public interest groups who can hold them accountable for that in the future."

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