Top investors demand firms including Tesla and Exxon Mobil cough up climate data
A group of top investors with $31tn in assets have today demanded firms including Tesla and Exxon Mobil reveal their environmental impact data, as calls grow for mandatory reporting on corporate emissions.
Aviva, Legal and General and Schroders are today among the global financial firms demanding that some of the world’s top emitters disclose their environmental data through CDP, the non-profit that runs the world’s largest environmental disclosure system.
The group has set its sights on companies including Tesla, Exxon Mobil, Saudi Aramco and Glencore, which in total are estimated to collectively emit more than 4,800 megatonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent annually, the CDP said.
CDP’s joint global director of capital markets Laurent Babikian said disclosure was “the first step to environmental action.”
“Climate change, deforestation and water security present material risks to investments, and companies that are failing to disclose their impact risk trailing behind their competitors in their access to capital,” he said.
“We are encouraged by the continued growth and success of this annual campaign and the record levels of participation this year.”
Regulators are preparing to swoop on firms over their environmental performance, with mandatory environmental disclosure requirements on the horizon in the US, UK, Japan, EU, New Zealand and India.
Babikian said non-disclosure will soon “no longer be an option for many of these companies”.
Tesla, Glencore and Saudi Aramco have been contacted for comment. Exxon Mobil could not be reached for comment.
A Glencore spokesperson said the firm had decided in 2018 that it would no longer participate in the CDP Climate Change (CDP) questionnaire following consultation with “relevant external stakeholders”.
“The key feedback we received during these discussions is that the majority of these stakeholders are using non-CDP information sources to assess and engage with Glencore on climate change. Our primary audience for our climate change disclosure is our investors and SRI analysts as well as other stakeholders with a strong climate change interest,” the spokesperson said.