CDP 2017: Global trends and key findings

This week saw the launch event for 2017 CDP disclosures. This is not only an important time of year for our clients to find out how they have performed, but is also a time to take stock of the global trend in emissions performance and management.

Global trends

After last week’s announcement that Greenhouse Gas concentrations are at the highest in 800,000 years it is reassuring to see that the analysis of the 2017 CDP disclosures found more companies are setting targets and considering long term, strategic time frames than ever before. CDP’s ‘Picking up the pace’ report provides detailed year on year analysis on a sample of high-impact companies. The full report is available online, but a summary of the key findings can be found below.

2017 key findings

• 89% of companies in 2017 had an emission reduction target in place, compared with 73% in 2011.
• 74% of companies who set targets have more than 80% of total emissions in scope.
• 14% of companies have committed to or have developed targets that are approved under the Science Based Targets initiative, up 5% compared with 2016.
• In 2017 20% of companies had targets that extended to 2030 or beyond, compared with 2011 when the vast majority of company targets extended only to 2020.

What does this mean?

Due to the uptake of and commitment to science based targets, the companies within this sample are on track to help keep warming to the levels proposed in the Paris Agreement. In fact, CDP estimates that, if companies within the sample achieve their current targets they would be 31% of the way to being in line with the 2^oC pathway.

Recognising the leaders

As well as presenting the global trends, the launch event was also an opportunity to recognise those companies that have made significant achievements or improvements during the year. We would like to say a huge congratulations to our client Compass Group for winning the most improved response for the 2017 forests soy questionnaire.