Record number of global firms to face calls for carbon disclosure

More than 3,700 of the world's largest companies will today receive information requests from the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) asking them to publicly release data on their carbon emissions and climate change strategy.

The initiative has grown significantly since last year when 2,800 businesses were contacted, and the 50 largest companies in Russia, 100 new companies in eastern Europe and 350 extra firms in Japan can expect to receive information requests from the CDP for the first time.

Backing for the NGO among institutional investors has also swelled, with the number of investors endorsing the information requests having expanded from 385 to 444, with a combined total of $55tr (£37tr) of assets under management.

Speaking to BusinessGreen.com, Paul Simpson, chief operating officer at the CDP, said the organisation was confident it would also see an increase in the number of companies disclosing their carbon emissions and climate change strategy.

"Last year, 1,550 companies responded to the information requests," he said. "We think companies that have responded in the past will continue to respond and we expect an increase in response rates in the US in particular, given that the clear signal from the Obama administration that it will act on climate change."

The CDP will today also release the results of a survey of 80 of the investment firms signed up to the project, which suggests investors are increasingly willing to base investment decisions on the extent to which firms have developed coherent climate change policies.

The poll found that three quarters of respondents now factor climate change information into their investment decisions and asset allocations, and of these more than 80 per cent consider climate change to be important relative to other factors affecting their portfolio.

Simpson said there were also signs from some respondents that they are not just asking firms to provide information on carbon emissions, but also demanding that they set emission reduction targets and develop effective climate change strategies.

"We sometimes have businesses asking us how investors use the information they hand over," he said. "This shows that they really are beginning to use it to decide whether or not to invest in a company."