CNW Telbec – Canada’s largest companies are providing more and better information about their greenhouse gas emissions and their management strategies to deal with them according to the results of this year’s Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) report, released today in Toronto.
“For the first time since the report’s inception, more than half of the top 200 companies listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange responded to the CDP’s information request,” said Len Coad, Director, Energy, Environment and Transportation Policy for the Conference Board of Canada, which conducts the information request for the CDP in Canada. “Upward trends in both quantity and quality of reporting suggest that the CDP is succeeding in its continuing goal of acquiring financial information of increasing value to investors.”
Fifty-five (55) per cent of the top 200 companies responded to the information request, compared to 45 per cent last year and 28 per cent two years ago. The latest respondents represent more than three-quarters of the total market capitalization of the companies surveyed. Furthermore, 47 percent of respondents-compared to 14 per cent last year-provided investors with financially relevant climate change information, such as fossil fuel and electric power costs, investments in emission reduction activities, costs or savings associated with emission reductions. Companies-especially those with high levels of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions-are also taking actions:
- 49 per cent of respondents have a formal GHG reduction management program in place;
- 58 per cent of respondents who have high GHG emissions indicated that they are forecasting their future emissions or energy use;
- More than half the respondents indicated that a board committee had oversight responsibility for climate change.
“This year’s increased participation rate is evidence of the strength of the institutional investment community’s demand for more expansive disclosure of climate risk,” commented Valerie Chort, partner and national leader with Deloitte’s Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability Services practice. “As carbon continues to be monetized through market mechanisms, including cap and trade and carbon tax, the issue of climate change will continue to rise on the corporate agenda.”
Although most responding companies are internalizing climate change risks and opportunities, fewer are formalizing their GHG reduction plans and setting tangible reduction goals.
“We can see a marked increase in levels of engagement from companies compared to the 2007responses to the CDP, with more companies reporting than ever before. With increased regulation on the horizon, investors need this information to better understand the creditworthiness of companies in their portfolio and how climate change might affect the profitability of these companies,” said Paul Dickinson, CEO of the CDP.
Fifteen Climate Disclosure Leaders Recognized
The Carbon Disclosure Project 2008: Canada 200 Report includes the Climate Disclosure Leadership Ranking (CDLR). Fifteen Climate Disclosure Leaders, representing both high- and low-carbon-impact sectors, were chosen by the CDP Advisory Group volunteer panel for exceptional levels of climate change disclosure.
High-Carbon-Impact Sector Companies
- AbitibiBowater
- ARC Energy Trust
- Bombardier Inc.
- Catalyst Paper
- Enbridge Inc.
- EnCana Corporation
- Gaz Métro LP
- Nexen Inc.
- Penn West Energy Trust
- Suncor Energy Inc.
Low-Carbon-Impact Sector Companies
- Alimentation Couche-Tard
- Bank of Nova Scotia
- Bell Canada
- Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC)
- Royal Bank of Canada
Sourced From
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