Green nook 2009: A Defining Year In Climate Change

Out of 257 companies stating the periods of their emissions reduction targets
in the Carbon Disclosure Project, only 36 percent of these disclosed targets
that stretched beyond 2012. It is often said that a business can only manage
what it measures. Since 2000, the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) has, on behalf
of institutional investors, challenged the world's largest companies to measure
and report their carbon emissions; integrating the long-term value and cost of
climate change into their assessment of the financial health and future
prospects of their business.

The CDP is widely recognized as holding the most comprehensive collection of
global data on corporate greenhouse gas emissions and climate change strategies.
Thousands of organizations measure and disclose their data through CDP. The CDP
then uses this information to positively influence financial and policy
decision-making.

In 2009, the CDP received the highest response rate to date, the highest
level of disclosed emissions and greater detail than ever before on the
activities being undertaken by the largest corporations around climate change,
mitigation and adaptation.

It was noted in last year's report that 2009 would be a defining year in the
climate change calendar and that much rests on the outcome of the Copenhagen
Climate Conference to be held in December. The outcome of this conference is
likely to shape the global policy response for the next decade and, potentially,
the speed and severity of climate change impacts for many decades to come.

Geographical bias

Though the Global 500 conti­nues to be largely biased towards certain
geographies-most notably the US, the international nature of the responses
reflects the full range of regulatory, physical and commercial drivers. The
world's largest companies hold signi­ficant influence over global emissions and
their potential to be reduced, and can play a major role in helping to shape an
international agreement.

Three key facts from the responses are notable in relation to this role:

• An agreement would provide increased certainty for the Global 500; out of
  257 companies stating the periods of their emissions reduction targets, only
  36 percent of these disclosed targets stretched beyond 2012. Consumer Staples
  and Utilities were the only sectors where more than half of companies
  disclosed targets beyond 2012.
• Regulatory drivers can be an opportunity instead of a burden; 46 companies
  saw the introduction of the UK's Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) as a risk,
  but 16 of these also saw it as an opportunity. Interestingly, a further 14
  companies viewed it as only an opportunity
• Asian companies are quickly becoming engaged. Asia has increased its
  proportion of the Global 500 respondents from CDP 2008, to 17 percent (71),
  partly due to an 18 percent increase in response rate- the largest of all the
  geographic regions.
  

Mapping key metrics by country

The CDP report showed that the companies of just five countries account for
70 percent of total emissions disclosed. Of these five countries, only the UK
ranked in the top five companies for disclosure score. This suggests a gap in
the rest of the top five, (US, Germany, France and Japan), where relative to
other countries.

The IT scenario

The report declared that HP is consolidating its 85 legacy data centers into
six data centers in three cities, each equipped with the latest energy-efficient
equipment and Dynamic Smart Cooling technology.

DQC News Bureau