A report from the CDP
Executive Summary
Businesses increasingly face the dual risks of climate and policy shocks. How companies build and demonstrate their resilience to these climate risks has important implications for their reputation with their stakeholders and for the value of their businesses. It is for these reasons that 722 investors representing US$87 trillion of assets this year requested that the 500 largest listed companies measure and report what climate change means for their business through CDP’s climate change program.
This year, 81% (403) of companies in the Global 500 took part. Demonstrating corporate understanding of the need for climate transparency, the quality of the information provided by companies has continually improved. To secure a position on CDP’s Climate Disclosure Leadership Index (CDLI), companies must achieve a disclosure score in the top 10% of the Global 500 sample. The minimum score for entering the CDLI has risen to 97% (up from 94% in 2012 and 90% in 2011). The number of performance leaders demonstrating a strong approach to climate strategy and emissions reduction in their CDP responses has increased since last year. This highlights how seriously corporations treat their carbon reporting and that this reporting increasingly translates into action.
This report is written for companies, investors and policy makers that want to understand the climate change related risks and opportunities facing business. It assesses how ten key sectors are addressing these challenges and eliciting competitive advantage from this. It looks at how growing markets for products and services are impacting companies’ responses to climate change. It also outlines trends seen in companies which are reporting barriers to actions.