Tuesday 9 June 2020
Investors urge environmentally-intensive companies to disclose their data
A total of 105 investors hailing from 23 nations are urging environmentally-intensive companies to disclose their data through non-profit platform CDP.
The investors, which include Legal & General, Nordea Asset Management and the New York State Common Retirement Fund, are working to get companies such as Nintendo, Exxon Mobil, Facebook and Domino’s Pizza to reveal their environmental impacts - the businesses in question cover more than $8 trillion (6.3tn) in global market capitalisation and are estimated to emit more than 4,800 megatonnes of emissions each year.
CDP notes 17% of the companies selected by investors already disclose on one theme, out of climate change, forests or water security, and notes they are included on the list because do not yet disclose data on another theme that has been identified as important for them -30%, including Chevron and Imperial Oil, were asked to disclose on at least two themes.
Nearly 60% of the companies highlighted were selected by investors to be part of this campaign to disclose their impact on climate change.
The organisation highlights companies that were targeted by their investors in 2019 were more than twice as likely to provide new disclosure than those who were not.
Emily Kreps, Global Director of Capital Markets at CDP, said: “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.
"As the growth of this campaign shows, investors require decisive data that is consistent, comparable and comprehensive. To make this possible, they expect companies to wholeheartedly engage with Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures-aligned standards on environmental disclosure and reporting. 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.”
