A group of nearly 300 financial institutions is urging some of the world’s highest environmental impact companies to disclose data on themes including climate change, water, and forests.
The non-disclosure campaign involving an investor group, representing almost $29 trillion in assets under management has been coordinated by CDP to target companies like ExxonMobil, Chevron, and Caterpillar.
According to a May 31 press release from CDP, the targeted companies spread across 51 countries are worth over a combined $21 trillion in market capitalization, and emit an estimated 4,200 plus megatonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent annually.
“Despite ongoing discourse over the role of ESG in financial decision-making, the continuous growth in supporters of the CDP’s non-disclosure campaign demonstrates that financial institutions worldwide require data to support risk management practices, tracking portfolio alignment to net-zero goals and unlocking sustainability-linked opportunities. These uses can serve to not only safeguard but also boost long-term profitability,” said Claire Elsdon, a global director at CDP.
A similar campaign in 2022 drove responses from 388 high environmental impact companies. CDP analysis indicated that companies that were directly engaging with financial institutions were over twice as likely to disclose.
Companies targeted by the campaign will be asked to disclose information on either climate change, forests, or water, while companies that have previously disclosed climate change information will now be asked to disclose information on all three.
The deadline for companies to submit their feedback for scoring is July 26.