The variety of firms publicly disclosing environmental knowledge via the CDP platform has soared 24 p.c within the final 12 months, with over 23,000 listed firms worldwide publicly reporting on their environmental efficiency.
The annual replace from the more and more influential disclosure platform confirmed that listed firms that collectively boast a market capitalization of $67 trillion, accounting for over two-thirds of whole market capitalization, now present some type of environmental affect knowledge on their enterprise via the platform.
The U.S., China, and Japan proceed to make up the highest three disclosing international locations, however there was additionally substantial progress in Asia the place each South Korea and Cambodia greater than doubled the variety of disclosing firms in comparison with 2022.
CDP works on behalf of traders to write down to listed firms requesting their present info on their carbon emissions, affect on water and forests, provide chain administration and plans to boost their environmental efficiency. The ensuing disclosures present traders and different stakeholders with comparable info on the environmental and climate-related dangers and alternatives a enterprise faces.
The platform has gained vital prominence in recent times, as extra traders name on listed companies to offer correct environmental knowledge. Immediately’s report confirms that the variety of companies disclosing via the platform has elevated fourfold for the reason that Paris Settlement in 2015.
Nevertheless, CDP warned that disclosures from the overwhelming majority of listed companies remained incomplete, with only one p.c of companies offering knowledge on all three of its focus areas: local weather change, water safety and deforestation.
The replace additionally confirms that rising numbers of public sector our bodies are reporting via the platform, with disclosures offered by over 1,100 metropolis, state and regional governments in near 100 international locations.
Sherry Madera, chief govt at CDP, mentioned it was clear that environmental reporting had grow to be a mainstream follow for the overwhelming majority of the world’s largest companies. “With over 23,000 companies disclosing via CDP this 12 months, it’s clear that sustainability — and the info that underpins it — is just not a ‘good to have’, however a necessary a part of long-term success within the enterprise group that’s exhibiting no signal of slowing down — nor ought to it,” she mentioned. “IPCC forecasts on our world’s local weather trajectory making for grim studying in what is ready to be the warmest 12 months on report. To take decisive motion for the way forward for our planet, we want organizations to be measuring and managing the place they’re on their sustainability journey via disclosure.”
Michelle Papayannakos, BBC group senior sustainability supervisor, mentioned a standardized strategy to carbon reporting and environmental disclosures can play a important function in enabling the event of efficient decarbonization methods.
“CDP has actually helped the BBC to have interaction internally on local weather change, rising our maturity as a company and offering a strong valuation of our present actions,” she mentioned. “CDP can be a core a part of our decarbonization technique for our provide chain. Asking our high 450 suppliers to additionally disclose has enhanced engagement, transparency of information and most significantly, led to a ripple impact of improvement and motion on local weather change.”
The information comes simply days after the Taskforce for Local weather-related Monetary Disclosures disbanded after its suggestions on disclosure finest practices had been adopted by the Worldwide Sustainability Requirements Board (ISSB), which offers a worldwide normal for company sustainability reporting.
CDP mentioned its requests for info from listed firms had been already aligned with the TCFD suggestions and that it could align its 2024 questionnaire with the ISSB’s local weather disclosure normal (IFRS S2). From subsequent 12 months it is going to additionally begin to replicate the not too long ago launched Taskforce on Nature-related Monetary Disclosures (TNFD) Framework in its info requests, it mentioned.
“CDP recognises its distinctive function and accountability to speed up motion because the driving drive for accumulating major environmental knowledge from organizations for over 20 years,” mentioned Madera. “Because the demand for sustainability knowledge will get more and more intense and sophisticated for organizations to barter, we now have the experience to arrange organizations — giant and small — to satisfy the wants of their stakeholders. This is the reason in 2024, we will probably be making it simpler and faster to reveal and entry knowledge, via a brand new framework on a brand new and enhanced know-how platform.
“These enhancements will allow CDP to proceed to push boundaries in environmental reporting and helps organizational leaders ship affect for his or her firm and for the planet.”
Emmanuel Faber, chair of the ISSB, welcomed the alignment between the CDP platform and the ISSB’s new requirements.
“The demand from international capital markets for strong, constant and correct climate-related info is greater than ever, and with it the necessity for a disclosure eco-system that’s simple to navigate for firms,” he mentioned. “CDP’s work in the direction of alignment with the IFRS S2 is extremely welcome and well timed, as it is going to additional ease the reporting burden for hundreds of firms, transferring us one step nearer to a typical language for disclosures, whereas bettering the consistency of climate-related info for traders and accelerating their entry to this knowledge.
“As firms put together to implement the ISSB requirements, it’s optimistic to see one more 12 months of progress in voluntary disclosure via CDP.”