US Firms are Improving but they are Being Outperformed on Sustainability

According to The Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), European firms are outperforming US firms in terms of sustainability. Although the United States has the most companies on the CDLI, Germany has four firms ranked in the top ten while the US has none. European firms like Bayer, Nestlé and BMW are among the companies that are doing more than US firms to address climate change.
The absence of government leadership in GHG emissions reductions means that the business community must work on their own to make meaningful progress. The leading US firms are Microsoft and UPS, both of which earned 99 points apiece, and a "B" grades for their actual results.

While the US may not be in the top ten, the latest survey suggests these companies are narrowing the climate strategy performance gap compared with the Global 500.

"The scores also show a market increase in the number of companies addressing these issues at the board and executive level," says CDP in its S&P analysis. "The data suggests that, in the absence of global or national regulation, business is stepping into the leadership vacuum and embracing climate change as a business imperative."

The average disclosure scores among the S&P 500 companies improved by 13 percent and far more of them were eligible to receive a performance score rating their credentials as a sustainable business investment. The top five S&P companies for carbon disclosure in 2012 are Microsoft, UPS, Hess, Pepco Holdings and Sempra Energy.

A total of 15 companies from the S&P 500 are recognized for their carbon performance. They include Ace, Allergan, Allstate, Autodesk, Bank of America, Best Buy, Eaton, Exelon, Intel, Lockheed Martin, North Grumman, NYSE Euronext, Pepco Holdings, Pfizer and Wells Fargo.

The Carbon Disclosure Project’s report concludes: “Those companies that have an awareness of long-term climate-change risks and opportunities reflected in their business strategy will gain strategic advantage over their competitors.”

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© 2012, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

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