UK companies’ carbon reduction plans are overwhelmingly short-term, with fewer than one in six planning beyond 2020.
UK companies’ carbon reduction plans are overwhelmingly short-term, with fewer than one in six planning beyond 2020.
A report from the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) published today finds that 15 per cent of FTSE 350 companies have emissions reductions targets stretching beyond 2020. In carbon-intensive sectors, the average duration of a target is just 11 years with a baseline of 2007.
However, about two-thirds of FTSE 350 companies (66 per cent) set reduction targets, compared to 58 per cent last year.
Paul Simpson, chief executive of the CDP, tells GrowthBusiness that the findings are relevant to businesses outside the FTSE 350, since companies that are reducing emissions are seeing tangible business benefits.
Adds Simpson, ‘Three-quarters of emissions reductions activities reported to us delivered payback within three years or less. The rapid return on investment of many emissions-reducing activities can help increase profitability.’
The UK has a target of reducing emissions by 80 per cent by 2050, based on 1990 levels.
The CDP’s report also finds that 79 per cent of FTSE 350 companies cite climate change regulation as a risk to their business, up from 68 per cent in 2010.
Simpson comments, ‘The government has made legally binding commitments on emissions reductions and is due to make a decision later this year on whether or not reporting on emissions will become mandatory.
‘The scale of organisations that this could be applicable to is still unclear but those with turnovers of £2.5 million or less could be impacted.’
