SA companies return impressive emission reductions

© bluedesign – za.fotolia.com

CDP is working to transform the way the world does business to prevent dangerous climate change and protect its natural resources. The CDP has a primary focus to work with the finance and investment community to realise a world where capital is efficiently allocated to create long-term prosperity, rather than short-term gain at the expense of the environment.

This year a questionnaire was sent to companies on behalf of 822 investors, representing a total of $95 trillion in assets. Instead of reflecting only the year on year change through the annual analysis reports, the NBI has chosen to contextualise the 2015 progress within the past eight years of CDP activity in South Africa, through a series of infographics that show how companies performed since the inception of the CDP.

Support from UK

These infographics tell the CDP story in South Africa and have been produced with support from the British High Commission and the UK Prosperity Fund. Peter Boxer, Deputy High Commissioner, British High Commission South Africa explains, "We're proud to have partnered with CDP and the National Business Initiative on this Prosperity Fund project. As the world prepares for global climate negotiations in Paris next month, we're heartened by the progress captured in these reports. Businesses in the UK support acting on climate change, and the results of this project suggests their South African counterparts feel the same."

Every year, company responses are reviewed and given two scores. One for disclosure and one for performance. The disclosure score assesses the completeness and quality of a company's response. The performance score assesses the level of action, as reported by the company, on climate change mitigation, adaptation and transparency.

Disclosure is given a percentage score between 0 and 100, with 100 being a perfect score for disclosure. Performance is rated in bands from A to E, with an A being the highest band. Companies that receive the performance band A comprise the climate A List, formerly known as the Climate Performance Leadership Index.

Record high levels

This year's disclosure scores have reached record high levels. 18 companies scored 99, and 4 a perfect 100. "South African companies have shown an impressive dedication to transparency and disclosure. In the context of needed trust building between stakeholders, this is an important contribution," says Joanne Yawitch, CEO of the NBI.

Disclosing companies have shown impressive greenhouse gas emissions reductions in the context of roughly 2% year on year GDP growth, market capitalisation growth of over 100% and the number of South African headquartered companies having grown to report data from over 70 countries around the world Global scope 1 and 2 emissions have declined by 6.6% from 2009 to 2015. Even more impressively, a comparison of 45 companies who consistently reported emissions to CDP from 2009 to 2015 reveals an emissions decline of 11.5%.

"While indicators of performance have started to plateau South African companies still return great emission reductions and with this year's reduction (2014 to 2015) at 2%, South African companies need to strengthen their targets and keep up this momentum. Ongoing performance is key," says Steve Nicholls, head of climate change, green economy and water at the NBI.