13 September 2018: At the Global Climate Action Summit, the B-team, a not-for profit organization of business leaders promoting business for the well-being of people and the planet, announced the first companies that have taken the ‘Pledge for a Just Transition to Decent Jobs.’ Through the pledge, the B-team is asking energy leaders to ensure a just transition and decent jobs in the renewable energy (RE) sector.

Launched in August 2018, the Pledge to Ensure a Just Transition and Decent Jobs in Renewable Energy includes the following standards that energy producers should use with respect to their own employees and require from their contractors:

• Social dialogue with workers and their unions;
• Fundamental rights, including the International Labour Organization (ILO) core labor standards and ILO occupational health and safety standards;
• Social protection, including pension and health; and
• Wage guarantees including prevailing wage rates for skilled workers in the relevant industries.

RE buyers are pledging to procure renewable electricity from companies that commit to the above standards, committing to integration of these standards into RE purchases, and accelerating ambition on RE purchases while calling on other companies to do the same.

At the Global Climate Action Summit, the B-team announced that RE developers Enel and Ørsted as well as RE buyers Autodesk, Safaricom and Unilever took the pledge to date. The Global Climate Action Summit was held 12-14 September 2018 in San Francisco, US. [The B Team Press release] [Pledge for a Just Transition to Decent Jobs] [ILO Fundamental Conventions (core labor standards)] [ILO Labor Standards on Occupational Safety and Health]