At the time when the government is exploring various options to move on to a low-carbon growth path, five Indian companies have made it to the global list of firms that have shown leadership in adopting measures to cut their climate-damaging emissions.
The list reveals which companies around the world are doing the most to combat climate change. It has 187 companies from across the globe that illustrate that a low-carbon future does not mean low profit.
Most of the companies performing better in terms of their efforts to combat climate change are located in Europe, followed by the US and Japan.
The Indian companies that made it to the list — CDP Climate Performance Leadership Index 2014 — are: Essar Oil, Larsen & Toubro, Tech Mahindra, Tata Consultancy Services and Wipro.
This new global index has been prepared by the CDP — an international not-for-profit organization — at the behest of 767 investors who represent more than a third of the world’s invested capital. The CDP (formerly Carbon Disclosure Project) is the only global system for companies and cities to measure, disclose, manage and share vital environmental information.
“Awarded an ‘A’ grade for their performance, they (the companies in the list) earn a position on the first global ranking of corporate efforts to mitigate climate change”, said the organisation in a statement while releasing the report comprising the names of the companies and the parameters\methodology followed on Wednesday.
It said, “Collectively the climate performance leaders have reduced their total (absolute) emissions by 33 million metric tons in the past reporting year, equivalent to turning London’s car owners into cyclists for two-and-a-half years”.
Paul Simpson, chief executive officer of CDP said, “The businesses that have made it onto our first ever global list of climate performance leaders are to be congratulated for their progress; they debunk economic arguments against reducing emissions. However, global emissions continue to rise at an alarming rate. Businesses and governments must raise their climate ambition. The data shows that there is neither an excuse nor the time for lethargy.”
The India 2014 report titled “Indian companies decouple business growth from carbon emissions” reveals that energy efficiency is the key means by which companies are acting on climate change.
“Over 60 per cent of surveyed companies are introducing process energy efficiency initiatives, consequently, 24 per cent have reduced their absolute emissions and an additional 26 per cent have reduced their emissions intensity while driving business growth and profitability”, said the report.
The report that analysed the responses from the top 200 Indian companies by market capitalization found that the companies are now better at identifying and prioritizing the climate change issues they want to actively manage.
The occasion also saw release of the CDP India 200 Climate Change Report 2014, showing how the Indian companies are using their increased commitment to climate change action to drive innovative sustainable businesses processes.
According to the report, the Indian companies expressed their eagerness to engage with the government to keep abreast with regulatory changes. This will ensure that they can take necessary precautions and proactively maintain their competitive advantage and brand image.
