STRONG IMPROVEMENTS IN CLIMATE REPORTING

7^th October 2013. Stockholm: 84% of total market capitalisation on the Nordic indices report greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and efforts to tackle climate change to investors through CDP, the only global environmental disclosure system.  The quality of information provided is better than ever in 2013 and many more companies are achieving top performance results, demonstrating that the Nordic 260 is making positive progress in response to climate change challenges.  These are some of the key findings of the 2013 edition of the annual CDP Nordic 260 Climate Change Report 2013, published today.

The report analyses climate change data provided by 151 of the largest companies in the Nordic region that took part in CDP’s climate change program at the request of 722 institutional investors representing US$87 trillion.  It shows:

{  Five Nordic companies achieved the top grade for climate performance: band A.  This annual index highlights those companies listed on the Nordic indices that demonstrate strategies committed to improving their impacts on the environment;  . These companies are: H&M Hennes & Mauritz, Electrolux, Outokumpu, Nokia and Telenor;

{  In general a strong improvement in performance bands 40% of companies achieve an A, A- or B, which is an increase of 76% since 2012;

{  94% of direct emissions come from only 26 companies.  The Nordic 260 companies disclosed 126 million tons CO₂e of direct emission (scope1) in 2013.  Nearly all (94%) of these emissions are reported by only 26 companies, mainly in the industrials, materials, utilities and energy sectors.  These companies reported a fall in emissions (scope 1 and 2) by 5% since 2012, with 17 of the 26 companies reporting lower figures than 2012;

{  Nordic companies are responding to market demands for verified climate data.  49% of responding companies verified their emissions in 2013: a 61% increase from 2012 and more than double the percentage in 2011, improving the quality and comparability of climate data available to the markets:

{  Some progress in achieving emissions reductions.  90 companies reported emissions reductions as a result of emission reductions activities – an increase of 15% from 2012.  However, this represents less than 60% of all companies which provided information, highlighting significant opportunity to increase the scale of corporate ambition: and

{  Over 300 disclosures in total from Nordic region.  Many more corporations and cities report to their investors, customers and other stakeholders through the CDP platform.  They supply data on climate change, water and forest resources, publicly or privately.

Paul Simpson, chief executive at CDP, the international not-for-profit dedicated to creating sustainable economies, says: “Many countries are demonstrating signs of recovery following the global economic downturn.  However, clear scientific evidence and increasingly severe weather events are sending strong signals that we must pursue routes to economic prosperity whilst reducing emissions of greenhouse gases.  It is imperative that big emitters improve their performance in this regard and governments provide more incentives to make this happen. 

Mr Simpson continues: “The corporate world is an aggregator of both risks and opportunities from this challenge, so this report is written for businesses, investors and policy makers that want a clear understanding of how the world’s largest listed companies can transform themselves in order to protect our natural capital.”

CDP’s climate change program asks companies to provide information on their emissions, their goals for reducing them and their assessment of a range of risks and opportunities related to climate change – from higher carbon taxes to rising sea levels.  The process that companies are guided through increases awareness of how to achieve efficiencies, realize monetary savings and capitalize on commercial opportunities from the management of energy, carbon emissions and climate change.

CDP assesses companies according to the scale and quality of their emissions reductions and strategies, and ranks these according to performance bands.  The best performers enter CDP’s CPLI. 

Swedish companies in the CPLI. 

This year two Swedish companies made the Nordic 260 CPLI:

CDP also rates companies according to their climate change transparency with the best disclosers entering CDP’s Carbon Disclosure Leadership Index (CDLI).  This score is a measure of the completeness of information disclosed.

Swedish companies in the CDLI

The indices are used by investors to assess corporate preparedness for national or international emissions regulation and to guide investment decisions.

 The CDP Nordic 260 Climate Change Report is launched today in Stockholm (13-15 at) at Citykonferensen Ingenjörshuset, Malmskillnadsgatan 46,with keynote speaker Sasja Beslik, Head of Responsible Investments & Governance at Nordea Asset Management.

Ends

About CDP

CDP is an international, not-for-profit organization providing the only global system for companies and cities to measure, disclose, manage and share vital environmental information.  CDP works with market forces, including 722 institutional investors with assets of US$87 trillion, to motivate companies to disclose their impacts on the environment and natural resources and take action to reduce them.  CDP now holds the largest collection globally of primary climate change, water and forest risk commodities information and puts these insights at the heart of strategic business, investment and policy decisions.  Please visit www.cdp.net or follow us @CDP to find out more.

For further information:

Emma Henningson, Project Manager, Nordics, +46 705 145726, emma.henningsson@cdp.net

Amanda Haworth-Wiklund, Director, Nordics, amanda.haworth@cdp.net