@Risk

On Monday, the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) released its annual S&P 500 Report, and the results indicate that companies are increasingly willing to disclose their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and their plans for emissions reduction.

What’s more, the data also shows me that companies are increasingly beginning to recognize the business risks associated with climate change.

Consider this: The CDP received 332 responses, representing 66% of the S&P 500 –that’s up slightly from 65% in 2008. Of these, 79% now disclose GHG emissions and more than half (52%) report emissions reduction targets (nearly doubling from 32% last year).

Here are a few other key findings:

• 68% of respondents reported board or executive-level responsibility for climate change oversight.

• Even though regulatory risks loom large, the companies in the study cited more climate change business opportunities (86%) than risks (82%).

• Reporting of indirect (Scope 3) emissions –such as those caused by the supply chain –rose a whopping 215.5%.  At last. The majority of a company’s carbon footprint is embedded in its supply chain, and it’s exciting to see that awareness about Scope 3 emissions is finally taking hold.

• More than one-third of those polled (35%) are linking corporate compensation incentives programs to the achievement of climate change related goals.

As an article in Monday’s Washington Post points out, companies are starting to appreciate the threat that global warming poses to their bottom lines.

Changes in both global climate and resources availability will require companies to adapt –if they want to succeed. Your business needs to start identifying and planning for appropriate responses and solutions, such as strategic sighting of production centers and  re-thinking materials and resource use/resuse.