A total of 105 global investors, which hold more than US$10 trillion in assets, are taking part in a flagship campaign by the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) to put pressure on some of the globe’s highest impact corporations.
The CDP, a non-profit global environmental disclosure platform, recently announced that Exxon Mobil, Facebook and Domino’s Pizza are among the 1,051 companies from 49 countries being urged to disclose environmental data by their investors.
The number of investors requesting disclosure as part of this initiative has grown by nearly 20 per cent since last year, with this year’s campaign reaching out to close to a third of all non-disclosers worldwide.
The recent public health pandemic has highlighted that business resilience and adaptability to external shocks are critical indicators of a business’ strength.
“The importance of investor engagement to drive disclosure cannot be overstated. Climate change, water security and deforestation present material risks to investments, and companies that are failing to disclose their impact risk trailing behind their competitors in their access to capital,” said Emily Kreps, global director of Capital Markets at CDP. “With business resilience and adaptation to unexpected, systemic risks exposed by the recent public health crisis, the tide is rapidly turning against companies not taking note of investor demands.”
The companies being engaged cover over US$8 trillion in global market capitalization, and are estimated to emit more than 4,800 megatonnes (Mt) of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) annually – equivalent to the 2017 GHG emissions from the U.S.
This investor initiative is part of CDP’s 2020 Non-Disclosure Campaign (NDC), which aims to increase engagement among companies that have either never disclosed, or stopped disclosing, to CDP.
An overview of the investor data so far includes the following:
- Nearly a fifth (17 per cent) of the companies selected by investors already disclose to CDP on one theme, climate change, forests or water security. They are included because they do not yet disclose data on another theme, which has been identified as material for them.
- The majority (58 per cent) of the companies, including Berkshire Hathaway and Nintendo, were selected by investors to be part of this campaign to disclose their impact on climate change.
- Nearly a third (30 per cent), including Chevron and Imperial Oil, were asked to disclose on at least two themes from climate change, forests or water security.
With the increased risks from climate change and other environmental issues investors are getting behind this campaign to ensure that their holdings keep pace with a changing world.
Sophia Cheng, chief investment officer at Cathay Financial Holdings, commented: “Climate change, deforestation and water security have become material issues to many industries. Investors require more comprehensive information and scientific analysis to address risks and opportunities derived from these issues. This explains why CDP questionnaires aligned with TCFD [Task force on Climate related Financial Disclosures] recommendations. Cathay encourages corporate environmental disclosure beyond self-assessment; such efforts are beneficial – and essential – to the transition toward low-carbon society.”
For further information on CDP participants, click here.
