November 14, 2007—The Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), a not-for-profit collaboration of over 315 institutional investors with assets under management of more than $41 trillion, recently released its second annual UK report (FTSE 350) and its fifth annual global report (FT500) detailing the companies’ greenhouse gas emissions data and strategies on climate change.
The report on the UK’s 350 largest listed companies by market capitalization (FTSE 350) was written by Trucost, an environmental research organization. CDP notes that the improved quality and quantity of responses indicate that the private sector is increasing the focus on the challenges presented by climate change. Response rates among FTSE 350 companies increased dramatically from 49% in 2006 to 70% in 2007, including a 92% response rate from FTSE 100 companies.
Within the FTSE 350 sample:
- 87% of responding companies considered climate change to present commercial risks.
- 80% considered climate change to present commercial opportunities.
- 38% have implemented an emissions reduction program with targets.
The global report (FT500) is based on responses provided by corporations within the Financial Times sample of the 500 largest listed companies globally. Written by Innovest, an internationally recognized investment research and advisory firm, it provides a comprehensive database of strategies from the corporations regarding the impact of climate change on shareholder value.
Within the FT500 sample:
- 77% of corporations within the global sample responded to the CDP questionnaire.
- 80% of those respondents see climate change as presenting both risks and opportunities to their business.
- 76% of responding companies reported implementing a GHG emissions reduction initiative compared to 48% in last year’s report. This trend suggests that a majority of firms recognize the financial and reputation benefits of improved carbon performance, says CDP.
For more information visit the CDP Web site.
