The number of large corporations that perceive climate change as a ‘real and present’ danger rose to 37 percent this year from 30 percent last year and 10 percent in 2010 amid drought, flooding, fires and other extreme weather events that have disrupted supply chains and dragged down profits, according to a new global study by the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP).
Eighty-one percent of large corporations see some level of physical risk from climate change, an increase from 71 percent last year, according to the study, carried out in association with PwC.
‘The new ‘normal’ for businesses is a period of high uncertainty, subdued growth and volatile commodity prices,’ says Michael Preston, global head of sustainability and climate change for PwC, in a release.
‘If the regulatory certainty that tips significant long-term investment decisions doesn’t come soon, businesses’ ability to plan and act, particularly around energy, supply chain and risk, could be anything but ‘normal’.
Even with progress year on year, the reality is that the level of corporate and national ambition on emissions reduction is nowhere near what is required.’
The CDP’s Global 500 Report includes data from 655 of the world’s largest institutional investors, representing more than $78 tn in assets. Besides covering corporations’ outlook and views on climate change, the report outlines emissions data from 379 companies.
According to the report, the number of companies that say they’re incorporating climate change into their business policies increased to 78 percent in 2012 from 68 percent in 2011.
Of the companies with climate change policies, 65 percent say it affects their short-term strategies, an increase from 63 percent last year. The study also shows that climate change is an issue with board or senior executive oversight at 96 percent of companies.
The amount of corporate greenhouse gas emissions reported to the CDP dropped 13.8 percent to 3.1 bn metric tons in 2012 from 3.6 bn metric tons in 2006. That’s the equivalent of the carbon emissions produced by 138 mn cars, according to the project’s press release.
Nine of the 10 leading companies in terms of disclosing carbon emissions and acting to reduce them are from Europe, with five from Germany, according to the project’s ranking.
Bayer leads the list, with Nestlé of Switzerland in second place, followed by BASF, BMW, Gas Natural SDG of Spain, the UK’s Diageo, Nokia Group, Allianz Group and UBS. Japan’s Panasonic places 10th on the list.
Companies that refused to respond to the project’s request for emissions data are mainly from North America, including Apple, Berkshire Hathaway, Royal Bank of Canada and Amazon. Russia’s Lukoil and Bank of China also make the non-respondent list.
