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The latest insights from CDP, the global environmental disclosure system

If water is the lifeblood that runs through our planet, then the world’s forests are its lungs. Both are vital to the living foundation that underpins our society and the global economy. This year’s World Water Day and International Day of Forests drove home the role of the private sector in shaping a more sustainable, deforestation-free and water-secure future. The climate crisis makes this even more urgent. Corporate action to protect water and forests makes business sense and is essential for climate leadership ahead of COP26.

The collective effort to end deforestation: Only 1% of companies demonstrating ‘best practice’

In CDP’s latest Global Forests Report 2020, disclosing companies identified US$53 billion of risks from deforestation, such as increased severity of extreme weather and shifts in consumer preferences. The cost of addressing these risks is estimated at US$6.6 billion, showing a strong business case for action. However, with only 1% of companies currently demonstrating ‘best practice’, we need their peers to get on board to ensure a forest-positive future.

A wave of change: For water security, businesses cannot afford to wait

Disclosures through CDP in the latest Global Water Report indicate the cost of inaction on water risks is up to five times the cost of action. While there has been corporate progress on reducing water use, action on water pollution remains stagnant. Companies are not doing enough to ensure water stewardship – they must put water at the heart of their business and take advantage of the financial opportunities of investing in water security, estimated at US$711 billion.

Environmental progress must be explicitly anti-racist: An interview with Marilyn Waite

The Black Lives Matter movement has brought into sharper focus the need to simultaneously address systemic racism, climate change and environmental destruction. Ateli Iyalla, (Managing Director, CDP North America) interviews Marilyn Waite, sustainability expert and Climate and Clean Energy Finance Program Officer at the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, who talks about how environmental justice benefits all people and the importance of working in a connected way to solve multiple problems.

Road to COP26

The UN Climate Change Conference – known as COP26 – taking place in November of this year, is poised to be one of the most consequential climate events since the negotiation of the Paris Agreement in 2015. We have launched a new webpage that sets out key actions that governments, companies, capital markets, cities, states and regions can take to accelerate climate action ahead of the summit. To ensure success on the road to COP26, we need everyone to act now.

Building Back Greener in India

CDP’s Annual India Report finds that companies have upped their game on climate action, boding well for future-proofing India’s ambitious growth plans. For the first time, Indian companies have featured on the CDP A List and the first Indian company has disclosed on forests. Nevertheless, the country risks increasing its emissions due to its inconsistent policy pathway.

Running hot: European companies currently on 2.7°C warming path

New analysis from CDP Europe and Oliver Wyman has found a €4 trillion mismatch forming between ‘Paris-aligned’ bank lending and the market for corporate lending in Europe. Based on reported emissions targets, European companies are currently on a 2.7°C warming path by 2100 and less than 1 in 10 have emissions targets for well-below 2°C of warming. Therefore, banks financing these companies are far from Paris-aligned today.

Addressing deforestation risks in China

Chinese financial institutions play a crucial role in creating incentives for sustainable forestry through their investment and lending practices. A new CDP report finds that if deforestation is not addressed in these supply chains, China’s high dependency on imported forest-risk commodities threatens the stability of its food security, could potentially harm its economic growth and undermine its climate ambitions.

How direct investor engagement drives corporate environmental transparency

With the world’s largest investors increasingly recognizing climate change as a defining factor in companies’ future success, Emily Kreps (Global Director, Capital Markets, CDP) explores how investor engagement plays a critical role in enabling the real economy to accelerate climate action.

When should organizations use climate-related scenario analysis?

With climate change creating an increasingly unknowable future, how can businesses create long-term strategies? Amanda Tucker (Associate Director, Reporter Services, CDP North America) outlines how climate-related scenario analysis has emerged as an essential risk management tool and how companies can avoid common pitfalls in annual disclosures.

CDP in the news

The release of CDP’s Global Forests Report and Global Water Report was also covered by Grist, Reuters and Bloomberg. Reuters also discussed how consumer pressure has boosted palm oil disclosure.

In a joint op-ed for Reuters Events, CDP’s Sareh Forouzesh and Catherine Moncrieff discuss the symbiotic relationship between the world’s woods and water systems and how solutions to tackle these crises must work in tandem.

Following the publication of CDP’s Annual India Report, S&P Global and Bloomberg write about the US$84 billion of debt in India’s banks at risk from an increase of extreme weather events such as droughts, floods and cyclones.

In a Financial Times round-up looking at companies’ tree-planting efforts, Carole Ferguson (Head of Investor Research, CDP) talks about the importance of transparency.

Following CDP’s report ‘Running Hot: Accelerating Europe’s Path to Paris’, Bloomberg warns that European companies are currently on a path toward catastrophic global warming.

Events

CDP reporting and beyond

In this joint webinar with VitralMetrics, we will help companies looking to disclose through CDP by sharing best practices for climate commitments including calculating emissions, assessing risks and opportunities as well as target-setting.

7 April 2021

REGISTER HERE

CDP Climate Change Survey Course

ISOS Group's training focuses on CDP's latest survey and scoring updates, helping participants understand how CDP relates to their organizations. A four-hour CDP online course split across two-hour sessions, topics covered include drivers for climate change reporting, materiality, risk and opportunity assessments as well as recent changes to the survey, such as scenario planning.

7-14 April 2021

REGISTER HERE

2021 CDP North America Virtual Workshop

CDP’s flagship workshop covers a range of topics, including ambition for 1.5°C, key updates on environmental disclosure and sharing best practices. Participants will find invaluable networking opportunities with peers across the sustainability field.

10-27 May 2021

REGISTER HERE