Three quarters of firms embrace emissions reporting

The vast majority of the world's largest firms are now committed to cutting carbon emissions and are reporting their carbon footprint on an annual basis, but business leaders remain convinced that more guidance from government is required if they are to deliver deep cuts.

That is the finding of the latest annual report from the Carbon Disclosure Project, an initiative backed by 385 institutional investors and designed to encourage firms to report on their carbon reduction strategies.

The group requested carbon emissions data from the Global 500 and received responses from 77 per cent of the companies on the list, with 74 per cent of those responding setting clear emission targets.

Similarly, 64 per cent of the companies on the US S&P list responded to requests for data, up from 56 per cent in 2007.

Paul Dickinson, chief executive at the CDP, said that although there was variation in reporting levels between different sectors, with 93 per cent of utilities providing responses to the CDP compared to just 64 per cent of construction firms, the overall trend was for greater levels of disclosure.

"Businesses are now ready to go and the majority have set emission reduction targets," he said. "The private sector has really bitten the bullet and is starting to deliver change, even while governments are still arguing about what to do."

However, the report also found evidence that a lack of clarity over the climate change regulations that will follow the Kyoto Agreement in 2012 was hampering action, with many firms citing regulatory uncertainty as a reason for delaying green investment decisions.

"If you are an electricity utility and you have to decide to build a new power plant, that is an investment that is going to last decades," explained Dickinson. "But how do you know what the price on carbon emissions from that plant is going to be in 2015 or 2020? You just don't know, and in that regard, let's just say governments are not helping."

The report also found that growing numbers of firms are beginning to identify emission reduction programmes as providing commercial opportunities.

"The market and the genius of individuals is beginning to respond," observed Dickinson. "We're beginning to see people make money. Companies that are making smaller cars are actually seeing their profits rise, while companies like Cisco are fast building a billion dollar business around teleconferencing. We're seeing that it is not just about wind turbines – it is across the whole economy. "