Amid the backdrop of evolving climate change trends and developments in Canada and worldwide, Torys LLP decided it was an opportune time to survey the climate disclosure practice of 220 of Canada’s largest public companies.
The firm’s new report provides the results of a survey of climate disclosure practices of Canada’s 220 largest public companies. The results were revealing—with several key takeaways, including the following:
- 45 per cent of companies have publicly set a target to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, with the substantial majority (74 per cent) targeting net-zero by 2050.
- 95 per cent of companies are publishing a sustainability, ESG, climate action/transition or similar report; 69 per cent of those companies state they are reporting in accordance with the Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosures, the international framework on which Canadian rules are expected to be based.
- 78 per cent of companies identify climate, environmental, ESG or sustainability skills in their board skills matrix.
- 88 per cent of companies are disclosing Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions, with over 50% of those disclosing at least some Scope 3 GHG emissions, although approaches to Scope 3 GHG emissions reporting vary considerably.
- 59 per cent of companies indicate that executive compensation is linked to climate-related goals or metrics.
The rise in climate disclosure practices comes at a time of economic turbulence, climate policy shifts and political uncertainty. In the absence of clear, broadly applicable disclosure rules, market practice remains mixed and forward-looking trends are uncertain. Only time will tell whether the advent of Canadian climate disclosure rules will lead to standardized reporting and increased transparency, or if countervailing political pressures or concerns about “greenwashing” liability will continue to muddy the waters.
To read the complete report, click here.
