More than 80pc of top global companies are not achieving significant carbon emissions reductions, recent research has revealed.
According to the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) report, produced by PricewaterhouseCoopers, of the 65pc of the Global 500 that have implemented carbon emissions reduction targets, only 19pc show significant carbon emissions reduction, although it reported an increase in the amount of companies identifying significant opportunities instead of risks from climate change.
Of these 500 companies that contribute 11pc of global emissions, top performers include Siemens, Phillips, RBS, and Bayer.
European firms, particularly those involved in the EU Emission Trading Scheme (ETS) or UK’s Energy Efficiency Scheme (CRC) are leading in terms of disclosure and performance, according the report.
A low-carbon economy
“The countries of the world need to speed up their transformation to a low-carbon economy. Partnerships that identify the climate vulnerabilities of our economies are playing a key role in our shift to a new model. Carbon accounting and disclosure are powerful tools that enable us to improve climate risk management and promote sustainable economic growth,” Robert B Zoellick, president, World Bank Group, commented on the report.
The study supports that climate change and carbon emissions have direct financial impacts related to having robust systems and processes to gather the data, report on it, analyse it and use it to drive value into a business.
Thousands of companies report their greenhouse gas emissions and climate change strategies through the CDP annually.
