Majority of Big Companies Adopt Climate Strategies, Survey Finds

A new survey conducted by the UK-based Carbon Disclosure Project finds that for the first time a majority of the world’s largest public corporations are including steps to combat climate change as part of their business strategies. In a survey of 396 of the world’s 500 largest companies, 68 percent said they now have strategies for dealing with climate change, compared with 48 percent last year. And 45 percent of respondents reported reductions in greenhouse gas emissions as a result of climate strategies, compared with 19 percent last year. The Carbon Disclosure Project also found a correlation between companies with focused carbon strategies and stock market performance, with those companies addressing the issue earning double the average return from 2005 to 2011. “Companies yet to take action on climate change will have to work hard to remain competitive as we head towards an increasingly resource constrained, low-carbon economy,” said Paul Simpson, CEO of the Carbon Disclosure Project. The survey found that the energy sector had the lowest proportion of companies setting emissions targets in the latest survey, while the utilities sector delivered the best climate change performance.