Environmental disclosure body CDP is launching its latest annual campaign in which investors directly challenge companies to publish data about their environmental impact, and said stock market giants such as Tesla and Saudi Aramco are among the firms being targeted in 2022.
CDP said this year’s push to get more companies to come clean has attracted record levels of participation by investors, with 57% more financial institutions taking part than in 2021.
The charity said 263 global investors representing over $31trn (€29trn) in assets were demanding disclosure from more than 1,400 “high impact” companies via its 2022 Non-Disclosure Campaign.
“This is the second consecutive year where we’ve seen an uplift of more than 56% in the number of investors requesting disclosure,” a spokeswoman for CDP said.
The companies being targeted include Tesla, Exxon Mobil, Saudi Aramco and Glencore, and cover over $24trn of global market capitalisation, as of 22 June, and are estimated to collectively emit more than 4,800 megatonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent a year, according to CDP.
Laurent Babikian, CDP’s joint global director of capital markets, said: “Engagement is critical to driving disclosure, and disclosure is the first step to environmental action.” He said climate change, deforestation and water security presented material risks to investments, and that companies failing to disclose their impact risked trailing behind competitors in their access to capital.
The campaign covers three themes – climate change, forests and water security.
This year, CDP said, 72% of companies in the campaign were being asked to disclose at least their impact on climate change, but added that there had been a marked increase this time around in the number of firms being asked to report their water and forests-related impact compared to last year.
“This demonstrates an increasing awareness of the interrelatedness of the climate and nature crisis and a growing call from the capital markets for corporate transparency on water and forest related issues,” the organisation said.
Last year’s campaign showed companies were more than twice as likely to disclose their environmental impact when directly engaged, CDP said.
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