More than 680 financial institutions worth over US$130 trillion in assets are
calling on the Boards of nearly 10,400 companies
worldwide
— worth US$105 trillion in market cap — to disclose data on their environmental
impact this year through CDP.
The groups of investors — which includes Allianz, Amundi, AXA, BNP Paribas,
CalPERS, Capital Group, State Street and
Vanguard
— sent letters today requesting the companies in question disclose their data on
all or some of the following environmental issues: climate change, deforestation
and water security.
Almost 100 more financial institutions — including asset managers, asset owners,
banks and insurance companies — have put their name to the disclosure request
this year compared to last, demonstrating rising demand for TCFD-aligned
corporate environmental information.
This growing market demand is driving more transparency every year, with CDP
last year recording higher corporate disclosure numbers than ever before. Nearly
3,200 companies (out of 7,176 requested) disclosed their environmental
information in response to CDP’s Letter to the Board in 2021. This is in
addition to over 10,100 other companies that disclosed through CDP, either at
the request of their business customers through CDP’s Supply Chain
program,
or of their own volition. So, over 13,000 companies, total — representing some
64 percent of global market cap — disclosed their data through CDP in 2021.
Companies being asked to disclose by these institutions include over 3,300
companies that are being requested for the first time (marking a 46 percent
increase since last year), as CDP pushes to scale the uptake of corporate
environmental reporting even further. Since the first disclosure request was
sent out in 2002, CDP has grown to house the world’s largest global repository
of environmental data; but by 2025, the aim is to grow this to cover 90 percent
of the world’s highest-impact firms.
While more companies are being requested and reporting every year, many still do
not disclose enough data on their environmental impact. Nearly 4,000 companies —
including Berkshire Hathaway, Chevron, Exxon Mobil and Glencore — failed
to respond to the request for disclosure from financial institutions in 2021.
Non-disclosure will no longer be an option for many of these companies, with a
series of mandatory environmental disclosure requirements coming in this year —
including in the
EU,
Japan,
New
Zealand
and
India,
as well as TCFD regulation being introduced in the UK from next month.
“Since we sent out our first disclosure request to companies two decades ago,
CDP has played a critical role in transforming environmental reporting from a
niche side issue to the top of boardroom agendas, with disclosure now being
mandated in regulation worldwide,” says CDP CEO Paul Simpson. “While many
companies are disclosing, setting targets and taking action across their own
business operations and value chains, there is a surprisingly large part of the
market still to take the vital first step of disclosure. These companies are
becoming increasingly out of touch with reality, investor and public opinion,
not just because of the regulatory stick that is approaching, but also because
there are so many proven benefits to transparency. We hope that this request,
backed by such an influential group of financial institutions worldwide, will
hit home and drive transparency and action even
further.”
Non-disclosing companies will also face increasing pressure from financial
institutions. Companies that repeatedly ignore this disclosure request may be
targeted as part of CDP’s Non-Disclosure
Campaign,
in which investors directly engage with specific companies they invest in to
push for greater transparency on environmental issues.
Outside of regulation and market demand, there are many other proven benefits to
transparency. CDP data shows that companies that publish their environmental
data consistently and on an annual basis can protect and improve their
reputation, boost their competitive
advantage,
uncover risks and opportunities, track and benchmark progress and get access to
lower costs of capital.
The CDP questionnaires currently track corporate progress on climate, forests
and water; but as part of its new five-year
strategy, CDP is
expanding its work to cover more environmental issues. This year, questions on
biodiversity
impacts
are being asked for the first time; and in the future, the scope will expand to
cover issues ranging from land and oceans to waste and food. These expansions
represent the move to a more holistic, integrated understanding of the
relationship between halting dangerous climate
change
and the protection and restoration of the natural world.
“Investors have an important role to play in driving corporate transparency and
action on environmental issues — we recognise this and have supported CDP’s
disclosure request for the last 12 years,” says Jean-Jacques Barbéris, Head
of Institutional and Corporate Clients Coverage & ESG Supervisor at Amundi. “We
need this comparable, consistent and clear data for our investment
decision-making, our research, our product development, our corporate engagement
and our regulatory compliance. It is also vital for us to meet our own climate
goals.
“But crucially, we don’t just need data on climate — we also need more
information on other areas of natural capital, and we must ensure that this is
incorporated in what companies disclose and take action on going forward.”
CDP’s 2022 corporate questionnaires will also incorporate more specific
questions on company climate transition plans, which will be vital in assessing
the quality of plans, progress over
time,
and in tracking the real economy transition.
CDP’s questionnaires are sector-specific and aligned with the recommendations
of the
TCFD
— which have formed the basis of most incoming climate and environmental
disclosure regulation — as well as the global disclosure standards currently
being developed by the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB).
Company submissions to CDP can therefore be used to assist in collecting,
structuring and disclosing a dataset that is consistent with these
recommendations, and in compliance with current and, often, incoming regulation.
The data CDP collects powers investment research, products, indices and ratings
including Bloomberg, STOXX, Trucost, FTSE/Russell, MSCI and
ISS ESG. It also helps capital markets engage with companies and make more
informed financial decisions.
A wide variety of other stakeholders also use CDP data — including major
purchasing organizations that request and use the information to inform their
decision making and risk management, and to effectively engage their suppliers
on environmental action. Indeed, many more companies will also be requested to
disclose through CDP in 2022 by their business customers as part of the CDP
Supply Chain program.
CDP’s online disclosure platform for companies will be open from mid-April.
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Sustainable Brands Staff
Published Mar 14, 2022 2pm EDT / 11am PDT / 6pm GMT / 7pm CET