Cities cover less than 2% of the earth’s surface but account for roughly 76% of global CO2 emissions.

Yet, shaped and financed by the private sector, some control just 4% of their emissions. This is why cities and businesses must come together, to deliver the ambitious and coordinated local climate action we need to slash emissions.

The CBCA model

The City-Business Climate Alliance builds on the successful experience of the London Business Climate Leaders (LBCL), an initiative of C40, CDP, The B Team and the We Mean Business Coalition - which saw the Mayor of London work with leading companies including Derwent London, Sky and Tesco to take action on clean energy, sustainable buildings, clean transport, waste and circular economy – as well as review of 30 city-business partnerships from around the world.

The model stands out from other public-private partnerships, with the city working with multiple businesses to co-create solutions to drive down emissions and adapt to climate change. By engaging the capacity, experience and innovation of the business community, the CBCA allows partners to implement critical projects, align priorities across sectors, and encourage collaboration across cities and within city departments.

This is seen in the example of Helsinki, where 29 public and private partners from the Helsinki Metropolitan cities, businesses, universities, research institutions and state actors are collaborating to deliver climate solutions, an initiative known as The Smart & Clean Foundation. Its spearhead project is building a circular economy for plastics, tackling the plastics value chain and ensuring that all plastic waste is reused or reprocessed into new material. Only 6% of virgin plastic is currently recycled into new materials.

The CBCA Guide is designed for city governments who want to work with their local business community to address the challenges of climate change. Besides Helsinki, the guide draws on the real-world examples of Boston, London and Paris to walk through the key steps and phases to establish a CBCA.