@Risk

In the second annual Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) Water Disclosure Global Report released last week, more than half (59 percent) of the companies surveyed said they are exposed to water-related risks such as flooding, scarcity and reputational damage.

What’s more, almost four in 10 (38 percent) already have experienced water-related business impacts, including disruption to operations from severe weather events (e.g., flooding) and water shortages.

And companies described most of their water risks as near- term. Nearly two-thirds (66 percent) of risks in the supply chain and 64 percent of risks in direct operations were identified as occurring between now and 2016.

But even so, the report also found that only 57 percent of the 190 publicly listed organizations that participated in the survey implement board-level oversight of water policies, strategies or plans. By comparison, a report released by CDP in September 2011 showed that 94 percent of Global 500 companies report board-level oversight of climate change.

Why the gap? While it’s encouraging to see that awareness about water risks is on the rise, it’s also clear that companies need to strengthen their oversight of water-related issues –particularly in the supply chain. The CDP report revealed that more than one-third of companies (38 percent) are unaware of whether they are exposed to water risk in their supply chains. In the Consumer Discretionary sector, which is dominated by industries that are particularly exposed to supply chain risk (e.g., retailers, hotels, resorts, and automobile manufacturers), that percentage rose to 41 percent.

The report also found that: (more…)

Companies need to better integrate carbon reduction strategies with their suppliers’ organizational policies, according to a new report by the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP).

The report, “CDP 2009 Public Procurement Report for the UK Government,” released just days before the start of the international climate conference in Copenhagen, stresses that climate change is a business issue and that the UK government now expects its suppliers to disclose their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and climate change related risk. (more…)

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.
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A report released yesterday reveals that nearly all (91%) of electric companies studied realize that they are at risk from climate change. Yet, there is little evidence that these companies are taking action to manage these risks and become climate change resilient.

The 32-page report, “Building Business Resilience to Inevitable Climate Change,” was sponsored by IBM and prepared by Acclimatise. It’s the second in a series of four reports that offer insights into how companies around the world are assessing and managing both the risks and opportunities brought about by climate change.

The data used in the report is derived from responses to the 2008 Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) Information Requests. Last year, the Information Request was sent to more than 3,700 global corporations, and this latest report specifically analyzes the responses obtained from 88 of the world’s largest electric utilities.

According to the report, the global electricity sector faces a long list of varied challenges over the next several decades. This list includes:

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