The Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), a not-for-profit organisation that gathers data on how companies are taking action to tackle climate change, is issuing a final call to Irish businesses to participate in this year’s project. The deadline for entries is Tuesday, 31 May 2011.
The CDP, which is principally sponsored in Ireland by the NTR Foundation and supported by KPMG, acts on behalf of large international investors and invites Irish companies to measure and disclose their greenhouse gas emissions and climate change strategies, encouraging them to set reduction targets and make performance improvements.
In Ireland, the CDP circulates its questionnaire to 40 of the largest companies listed on the Irish Stock Exchange; large organisations involved in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme, including the major utility firms such as Bord na Móna and ESB; and other companies that volunteer to take part. Companies must complete the CDP questionnaire by 31 May and the Carbon Disclosure Project Ireland 2011 report will be published later in the year. Last year, 33 Irish companies participated in the questionnaire and the CDP anticipates that this number will increase in 2011.
The questionnaire itself examines climate change practices, emissions reduction targets, climate change risks and opportunities, emissions data and zero or low carbon strategies.
Sustainable organisations
Calling on more Irish businesses to participate in this year’s Carbon Disclosure Project, Dick Budden, Ireland director of CDP, points to the strategic importance of carbon management: “Investors want smarter, more efficient, more sustainable organisations. Consumers are also looking for more sustainable suppliers. CDP has become the established and accepted global standard for examining the possible impacts on business of the many factors connected with climate change.
“Last year more than 3,000 companies around the world responded to the CDP request, recognising that carbon management has a strategic role to play in reducing energy costs, generating revenue and remaining competitive.”
Budden is a speaker at the second annual Green Economy Business & Leadership Briefing on 31 May, where he will look at how capitalism is adjusting to meet the challenges and opportunities of the low-carbon future.
‘Green’ practices and the bottom line
Jim Barry, chairman of the NTR Foundation, adds that becoming more sustainable also makes good business sense, positively impacting a company’s bottom line.
“The adverse impacts of climate change will be global and the risks are too big to ignore. But it is also increasingly evident that ‘green’ practices actually contribute to the bottom line and more and more companies are taking this on board. It therefore makes sound business sense, even in today’s global recession, to participate in CDP and demonstrate that your organisation is also assessing the challenges and opportunities of sustainable business practices.”
The second annual Business & Leadership Green Economy Briefing takes place from 8am on Tuesday, 31 May 2011, at the Four Seasons Hotel, Dublin. For further information, visit the event’s website or contact Niamh Carwood for more information.
