The findings are part of the CDP’s annual Climate Change report on behalf of 822 investors representing US$95 trillion.
Advertisement
As Christiana Figueres, UNFCCC executive secretary, makes clear in a video on the CDP site, “whether it is avoiding a physical loss of assets, eventually paying out for liabilities that we’re incurring today, or the risk of stranded assets in the transition to a low emission economy, disclosures help investors make informed decisions about what to include in their portfolios“. During Climate Week NYC a year ago, The Climate Group convened top companies around the world to launch the RE100 initiative, to encourage and support businesses switching to 100% renewable energy.
The report stated that Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories are among companies investing significantly in long-term strategic initiatives while organizations like Ambuja Cement, Tata Power and Wipro are increasingly deploying renewable energy.
CDP Europe is part of the CDP worldwide network, an international, not-for-profit organization providing the only global system for companies and cities to measure, disclose, manage and share vital environmental information.
Tata Global Beverages has earned its position on the index by disclosing high quality carbon emissions and energy data through CDPs climate change program. “Tata Power has invested US$ 37 million (Rs 240 Crore) in solar power installations while TCS spent US$ 5.47 million (Rs 35.97 Crore) in incorporating green building concepts”, said the CDP India report, released on Wednesday.
Finally, again looking at the value of shame, CDP says: “The growing momentum among the corporate world is coinciding with increasing engagement on climate change from the investor community”. CDP rates companies according to the level of their efforts to curb emissions and adapt to the effects of climate change, as well as the transparency of their actions.
Meanwhile, no Indian company got featured in the global 2015 Climate A List, which comprises companies identified as “A grade” for their actions to mitigate climate change.
Almost 2000 companies globally participated in the CDP Climate Change 2015 questionnaire, which was independently assessed against CDP’s scoring methodology to achieve the ranking. After the government ditched carbon-pricing, the result was “perhaps indicative of a corporate understanding of the issues that is greater than the political will to act”, CDP said.
“Sustainability is an essential part of our business, and we are extremely proud to be included in the CDP’s Climate Change Leadership Index”. It said, “Nine of every ten companies now have activities in place that are lowering their carbon output, compared with less than half in 2010”. “For instance, at 94%, almost all companies assign board or senior management responsibility to climate change and three quarters offer incentives for improving climate performance”, the report added.
Advertisement
The report also suggests that the number of companies setting firm targets to reduce emissions has also grown strongly, with 44 per cent now setting goals to reduce their total greenhouse gas emissions, up from 27 per cent in 2010.
