Prevailing business attitudes toward carbon pricing The net benefits of carbon pricing When asked about the impact carbon pricing would have on a range of areas across their businesses, respondents answered that in every case it was more likely to be positive than negative. Seventy-eight percent of respondents said carbon pricing would have a strong positive impact on fostering innovation, suggesting that carbon pricing can trigger initiatives beneficial to performance, not just compliance. Eighty-one percent of respondents said it would have a positive impact on their companies’ green growth opportunities. Furthermore, almost half of respondents (49%) believe that carbon pricing would have a positive impact on their overall competitiveness (see Figure 3). One reason for optimism may be the positive reports emerging from companies that have implemented a business-wide carbon price. Pharmaceutical company GSK, for example, reports substantial benefits from being part of the EU ETS, including the sell-off of unneeded European carbon allowances and 4 savings from switching to energy-saving policies. Microsoft, having voluntarily set an internal price for 5 carbon, reports that it saves US$10m per year as a direct result of that action. Over the longer term, other benefits may emerge, not least that it may be more cost effective for companies to act sooner rather than later on carbon pricing. “We know that acting now is cheaper than waiting until tomorrow,” explains Gérard Mestrallet, CEO of Engie. Figure 3. What impact would carbon pricing regulation have on your company? Overall carbon 21% 27% 27% 21% 5% emissions Appetite for 16% 27% 30% 20% 7% investment in the country Fostering innovation 38% 40% 13% 6%3% Investment in green 40% 15% 1% growth opportunities 41% 3% Overall 22% 28% 28% 14% 9% competitiveness Strong positive impact Slight positive impact No impact Slight negative impact Strong negative impact Note: not all percentages total 100 due to rounding 4 ‘10 years of carbon pricing in Europe,’ CISL, p7, 2015 http://www.corporateleadersgroup.com/resources/ publications/10-years-of-carbon-pricing-in-europe-2013-a-business-perspective. 5 ‘Making an impact with Microsoft’s carbon fee,’ Microsoft, March 2015 http://download.microsoft.com/ 6 I Shifting the carbon pricing debate download/0/A/B/0AB2FDD7-BDD9-4E23-AF6B-9417A8691CF5/Microsoft%20Carbon%20Fee%20Impact.pdf.