EDITORIAL_Today on Earth Day, 170 nations sign the Paris Agreement on climate change at the United Nations in New York City. Leaders from countries around the world are signing a landmark climate change accord that came out of negotiations at the COP21 climate summit last December in Paris. Even North Korea is expected to sign the document, according to CNN.com. This is the next step toward the Paris Agreement becoming international law.

This is one of the most significant and historic ways nations are marking Earth Day.

“This would be a landmark in international law, as the number of signatories of the Paris Agreement would then surpass the previous record of 119 signatures for an opening day signing for an international agreement, set by the Law of the Sea in Montego Bay in 1982,” the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change, which organizes climate talks, said in a news release.

The Paris Agreement is perhaps the world’s biggest leap forward in climate change policy in history. It sets the ambitious goal of limiting warming to “well below” 2 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels, which translates to the entire world to getting off of fossil fuels this century, CNN’s John D. Sutter, in his commentary, “What’s next for the Paris Agreement?”

Manufacturers Can Lead the Way

Considering that the industrial segment is still–despite admirable efforts to reduce energy consumption and resultant emissions–the largest consumer of energy. Therefore, manufacturers can be a powerful force in making those commitments a reality.

Hundreds of manufacturers have installed solar arrays on their roofs, wind turbines on their properties, sourced biofuel and other renewable energy forms, as well as fuel cells and CHP, saving energy and cutting emissions in the process. That they have been able to secure energy price stability and save money over the long run is a delightful bonus.

The list of manufacturers sourcing from renewable energy is burgeoning, as sustainable manufacturers concerned with the effects of their production seek to lessen their environmental impact.

Lockheed Martin, Invenergy and 3M announced some recent additions, as partners of the U.S. DOE’s Green Power Network. (Invenergy and 3M Company Collaborate on Wind Energy.)

HP committed to sourcing 100 percent of its electricity from renewable electricity; Procter & Gamble to power North American plants with wind.

Some are collecting awards along the way to the bank, such as Hypertherm, which received EPA’s 2015 Green Power Leadership Award.

Others are distinguishing themselves as leaders in their segments, such as Wahl, which installed a large solar array last year. (How Wahl reached the heights of ROI on rooftop solar project.) and the illustrious and sparkling Method (Method to the madness or madness to Method?)

A few manufacturers have achieved the seeming unachievable–carbon neutrality, such as Harbec. (Visionary manufacturer champions carbon-neutrality)

Before long, it is likely that manufacturers without renewable energy installations will be in the minority.