European Business Council for Sustainable Energy
= e5 was founded in 1996 as a business-focused initiative whose purpose is advocating the full potential of sustainable energy in the European Union (EU) based on the five principles: energy, economy, efficiency, environment and employment. The organisation currently represents some 110 European enterprises.
URL = http://www.e5.org
Description
"The business association European Business Council for Sustainable Energy (e5) champions the future viability of the European economy. The abbreviation e5 stands for the five dimensions of a sustainable industrial society: e-conomy, e-fficiency, e-nvironment, e-nergy, and e-mployment.
Initially, e5 was founded 1996 in Germany in order to promote the potential of sustainable energy use and the implementation of modern, climate-friendly technologies in the European Union (EU) and at the early international climate negotiations. In the preceding century the association championed the cutback of subsidies for ecologically harmful technologies, the implementation of economic instruments for the advancement of energy efficiency and the implementation of emissions trade as an economic instrument for reduction of climate-damaging greenhouse gas emissions. Further themes were the conversion of the European energy platform, the use of intelligent technologies for modernising transportation and the employment of modern communications technologies for greenhouse gas emissions reduction, for example by means of substituting business travel by video conferences. All activities were guided by the slogan "Climate is Business": Climate protection is good for business and innovative business is part of the solution, not part of the problem.
Today, the organisations activities are based on the conviction that the future viability of European business depends on whether we terminate the global overexploitation of our ecological resources and whether we can foster and advance the human web of life based on ecological, social, cultural and technological commons. e5 meets this challenge by posing four questions: How can business contribute to the advancement of sustainable lifestyles? How can eco-innovation be accelerated? How can business assist in the endeavours of poor societies for resources-efficient economic development? How can business advance the commons sensitivity of the modern economy?"