The city of Johannesburg and businesses have agreed to work together to make the city green.

The city and the business sector committed themselves to reducing emissions and conserving the environment at a business seminar held on Monday. The seminar was attended by more than 100 delegates representing business and local government and gave the city, the National Business Initiative (NBI) and Standard Bank the opportunity to discuss climate change as part of the build-up to the C40 Climate Change Summit to be held on 4-6 February.

“South African companies are, in many respects, leading the way in innovation and achievements. From your most recent Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) Report released just before our meeting in December, it is evident that the response rate of South African companies is the second highest in the world, with a remarkable 83%,” says Johannesburg Mayor Parks Tau.

Tau also announced that the city, C40’s Measurement and Planning Initiative, Siemens and the World Research Institute have been working together to conduct the first-ever citywide greenhouse gas inventory and baseline.