Sky pledges to go net zero carbon by 2030

Sky, one of the largest media companies in the world and the owner of Sky News, has pledged to go net zero carbon by 2030 to fight climate change.

The ambitious target means Sky has committed itself to supporting the United Nations Global Compact's Business Ambition of limiting global warming to no more than 1.5 centigrade above pre-industrial levels.

Scientists warn that anything above that level will have catastrophic consequences for the planet and the people living on it.

The United Nations Global Compact is a non-binding United Nations pact to encourage businesses worldwide to adopt sustainable and socially responsible policies.

Sky Group chief executive, Jeremy Darroch, says the move is the only responsible thing to do.

"We are launching our ambition to become net zero carbon by 2030," he said.

"We know the UK government has got a target to become net zero by 2050 and we want do that 20 years early and be part of the forefront of that move to a net zero carbon economy."

Climate science is clear carbon emissions are a driving force behind global warming.

Sky intends to meet the target of going net zero carbon in 10 years time by cutting emissions created by its consumers, its suppliers across the world, and by its business, by at least 50%.

It will make all of its tech products energy efficient.

The programmes and films the company makes and its TV channels will become net zero carbon.

But the biggest challenge will be helping the 11,000 companies that work with Sky - whether they are making Sky boxes, or hit TV shows - become net zero carbon.

There will be some carbon emissions that it cannot eliminate with current technology, as things stand.

Sky has pledged to offset those emissions by planting trees, mangroves and seagrass to absorb that carbon if scientific advances do not move fast enough.

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The company is already carbon neutral from its direct emissions and has been since 2006.

As it expanded its main campus in west London, for instance, it put in place environmentally friendly infrastructure like wind turbines to generate electricity.

Its latest plan goes far beyond that.

It is also hoping to encourage others to follow its lead and change their environmental habits.

There is no doubt environmental awareness is good for business.

Activists like Greta Thunberg have forced the issue into public consciousness.

Companies like Microsoft have already decided to move with the times, with the tech company aiming to remove all the carbon it has emitted from the environment since it was founded in 1975.

Environmental expert Professor Mark Maslin from University College London says it is good that companies are taking the initiative - but the government needs to do more.

He said: "They've all sat down. Sky, Microsoft, they've all sat down and they've looked at the science.

"They've gone: 'This is scary, we need to do this as quick as possible, we can show leadership and we can do this by 2030'.

"Now what I'm hoping is those companies can show if they're going to do it then government has to follow."

Sky has been campaigning for the environment for more than a decade.

Its Ocean Rescue project exposed the toxic levels of pollution in the world's oceans and highlighted the need to pass on single-use plastic.

It is hoping its latest pledge will also inspire others - this time to 'Go Zero'.

Sky will use its programming and social media to encourage others to #GoZero, spreading the word to millions of people every day.