Mentor, Ohio-based graphic films manufacturer Avery Dennison is one of more than 140 companies voicing support for the measures to curb greenhouse gases that were announced following the recent United Nations Climate Change Conference held in Paris.

Avery Dennison says it supports an agreement that will cut emissions enough to keep the average global temperature increase below 2 degrees Celsius, which scientists say is necessary to avoid the worst effects of climate change.

“Signing the pledge was an easy decision because we’re already doing the things that the pledge asked of us,” saysDean Scarborough, Avery Dennison’s chairman and CEO. “We unequivocally support an agreement coming out of Paris that takes a strong step toward a low-carbon future. We are cutting our own carbon emissions and taking additional measures to tackle climate change.”

A portion of the pledge Avery Dennison released to U.S. conference representatives in advance of the Paris talks reads as follows:

“Building on a 2009 pledge to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, indexed to net sales, by 15 percent from 2005 to 2015, Avery Dennison pledges to:

• Reduce absolute greenhouse gas emissions from our operations by at least 3 percent annually, and by at least 26 percent overall, between 2015 and 2025.
• Eliminate deforestation from the production of agricultural commodities by 2020, in alignment with the 2014 New York Declaration on Forests.
• Purchase 100 percent of our paper from certified sources by 2025.
• Purchase at least 70 percent of our paper from Forest Stewardship Council-certified sources by 2025.”

Scarborough says his company supports strong and immediate efforts to curb emissions for reasons both ethical and commercial.

“Climate change is an imminent global threat that demands urgent action from all segments of society – including business – while we still have time to act,” he writes. “It poses risks to people, communities, ecosystems and, obviously, our business. Responding to climate change by reducing emissions is, above all, a moral imperative. It’s consistent with our company’s ethics and guiding principles. And if we want to stay in business for the long term, then addressing the risks posed by climate change is simply sound strategy.”