Shareholder advocates and other investors no longer have to rely solely on the claims made by publicly traded companies to determine their exposure to risks associated with greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
The Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR), a coalition of nearly 300 faith-based institutional investors representing over $100 billion in invested capital has compiled independent “climate risk profiles” on more than 150 corporations–from Abbott Laboratories to Yum! Brands
All companies profiled are subject to 2009 shareholder resolutions filed by faith-based investors, public pension funds and other "responsible" investors.
The climate change indicators for the companies were developed using data from Trucost, an independent environmental data company that maintains the world’s largest record of greenhouse gas emissions, as well as over 700 environmental indicators including water use, waste disposal and pollutants that cause smog and acid rain.
Each of the “climate risk profiles” takes into account whether or not a company discloses the greenhouse gas emissions from its operations and the percentage of the company’s deviation in GHG emissions from the sector average compared to its closest industry peers. For companies that do not disclose GHG emissions, Trucost calculates their emissions based on its research and methodology.
Examples of the top and bottom performers, as determined by ICCR, in three sectors:
- Chemicals – Chemtura Corp. (NYSE: CEM) (top) and Dow Chemical Company (NYSE: DOW) (bottom).
- Financial Services – Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE: AMP) (top) and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) (bottom).
- Technology – Google Inc. (Nasdaq: GOOG) (top) and Intel Corporation (Nasdaq: INTC) (bottom).
“The profiles provide an essential starting point for investors to learn about the climate risks and opportunities that exist within their portfolios,” Dr. James Salo, vice president of Strategy and Research, Trucost, said.
Leslie Lowe, director, Energy and the Environment program, ICCR, said: “ICCR’S goals in publishing the climate risk profiles are to: increase awareness among institutional and individual investors of climate risk in their portfolios and identify companies that are ‘best in sector’ and the available options for investors to reduce their carbon exposure without changing sector diversification strategies. Investors need greater transparency from corporations about their GHG footprint and what they are doing to reduce climate risk and to enhance investor value by becoming cleaner and greener. Identifying companies that lag their sector peers may generate pressure on those companies from investors, consumers and policy makers to reduce GHG emissions.”
The basic “climate risk profile” provides information on more than 150 companies and is available at the link below.
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