World Environment Day 2015: are You Familiar with Total’s Commitments?

On World Environment Day, Total is joining the conversation, which is focused this year on sustainable consumption and production. This annual event organized by the United Nations brings together 70 countries with the goal of raising awareness and encouraging initiatives to protect the environment. 

Because at Total, we know that our business has an impact on climate, we are putting forward solutions to reduce our environmental footprint. Learn more about Total’s key commitments below.

Did You Know?

• Total is also a gas company 

Natural gas has a key role to play in meeting our energy demand while limiting emissions. In 2014, natural gas represented 50% of Total’s portfolio, compared to 35% in 2005. Natural gas emits half as much carbon dioxide as coal in power generation. Replacing half of the world’s coal-fired plants with gas-fired plants would reduce CO2 emissions by 2.5 billion metric tons a year, equivalent to 5% of global emissions. In conjunction with the development of gas, Total is contributing to methane emission mitigation through our participation in the Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC), an initiative promoted by the United Nations. 

• Total is a leader in solar 

We believe strongly in the development of renewable energies, particularly solar energy. Thanks to our affiliate SunPower, we are the global No. 2 in photovoltaic solar energy (in terms of revenue). SunPower's solar panels boast an efficiency of 21% compared to 16% for its leading competitors. We are currently building the world's largest merchant solar power plant, (i.e., a plant that sells the power it produces locally) in the Atacama Desert region of Chile, where it will provide power to 70,000 Chilean homes. 

• Total is making its facilities more energy efficient 

We set a target to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions by 15% between 2008 and 2015. We surpassed this target in 2013, achieving a decrease in emissions of 20%. This success story was achieved by improving the energy efficiency of our facilities and by cutting back routine flaring of associated gas in crude oil production operations. Routine flaring has been excluded from new projects since 2000. As part of this commitment, Total also endorsed the World Bank's Zero Routine Flaring by 2030 initiative in 2014. 

Consumers can do their part as well in reducing their daily consumption. Our Total Ecosolutions program aims to reduce emissions related to the use of our products (1.5 Mt of CO2 avoided in 2014*). 

*Lifecycle analysis

• Total provides access to energy in the most disadvantaged regions

Worldwide, 1.3 billion people do not have access to electricity.

Because Total’s mission is to provide energy to as many people as possible, we launched the Total Access to Energy program in 2010.  

Awango by Total, a key offering from this program, provides people living in the most disadvantaged regions with access to lighting through a range of accessible and reliable solar lamps. We sold our one millionth lamp in May 2015. We aim to keep growing the program and are targeting sales of five million lamps in Africa in 2020, reaching 25 million people on the continent.

• Total is engaged in global initiatives to mitigate climate change 

We are coordinating our efforts to address climate change, a global challenge. 

On June 1st 2015, six major oil and gas companies including Total (BG, BP, Eni, Shell, Statoil, Total) announced their call to governments around the world and to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to introduce carbon pricing systems and create clear, stable, ambitious policy frameworks that could eventually connect national systems. These would reduce uncertainty and encourage the most cost effective ways of reducing carbon emissions widely. 

Within the energy sector, Total has been a driving force behind the Oil & Gas Climate Initiative to maximize synergies among actions to fight climate change taken by a number of international companies, including Saudi Aramco, BG, BP, ENI, Pemex, Shell and Sinopec.