The city of Dallas has formed a Business Climate Leadership Group through a partnership with the City-Business Climate Alliance, with the first meeting held last month.

“We’re honored to be named one of CBCA’s Cohort Cities,” Mayor Eric Johnson said in a statement. “These strategic partnerships will be crucial to amplifying the impact of our business community’s climate efforts and our Comprehensive Environmental and Climate Action Plan. This alliance will also help establish Dallas and its businesses as national leaders in implementing data-driven climate solutions to promote a vibrant, healthy, and resilient city.” 

Setting climate targets in line with the Paris Agreement

CBCA was formed by C40 Cities, CDP, and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development as a joint initiative aimed at accelerating climate action through local city-business collaboration. The CBCA provides city and business leaders with a platform to convene, set joint commitments, co-create, and implement projects that help cities deliver on their Climate Action Plans and businesses on their climate targets in line with the Paris Agreement.

The C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group is a group of 97 cities globally that represents one-twelfth of the world’s population and one quarter of the global economy.

The Business Climate Leadership Group was created as a result of Dallas’s nomination as one of eight international cohort cities selected to participate in a three-year program with the CBCA.

The city was chosen based on work that went into developing the Comprehensive Environmental & Climate Action Plan (CECAP), the current level of engagement with the local business community, and an interest in peer-to-peer exchange, the city said in a statement.

Dallas City Council approved partnership in 2020

Johnson signed a Letter of Intent for the city’s participation in June 2020, and the City Council approved the partnership in December 2020.

The city said that in collaboration with CBCA, the Office of Environmental Quality & Sustainability has drawn on CDP disclosure data to identify and recruit a diverse group of local business leaders, including representatives from AIA Dallas, Smart Energy 360, CBRE, Toyota North America, Oncor, Dallas Innovation Alliance, the Dallas Black Chamber of Commerce, Salesforce, and the Dallas Regional Chamber.

The CDP business scan was used to identify key climate leaders in Dallas.

Members will help advance implementation of the Comprehensive Environmental & Climate Action Plan while simultaneously supporting their own sustainability goals and sharing experiences and best practices.

Focusing on buildings, energy, transportation, and zero-waste

The city said that the group will support initiatives around four of the eight CECAP goals: Buildings, Energy, Transportation, and Zero-Waste, with a focus around building energy efficiency/net zero, electric vehicle infrastructure, and solar energy.

“CBRE is committed to building a more sustainable and just future for all, from our Dallas headquarters to every community where we live and work. We look forward to driving change in collaboration with the CBCA and sharing insights from the implementation of our own net zero carbon emissions strategy,” Tim Dismond, chief responsibility officer for CBRE, said in a statement.

The leadership group is seeking participation from other firms who may have an interest in contributing to smaller working groups that are focused on topics such as electric vehicles, solar, and building energy efficiency.

Earlier this year, Mayor Eric Johnson tapped Julie Hiromoto as a citywide representative to the city’s Environmental Commission, which was formed last year to put in place measures laid out in Dallas’ 2020 climate action plan.

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