Number of Irish companies reporting carbon emissions to CDP falls
The number of Irish companies reporting on their carbon emissions fell to 28 last year, from 30 in 2017.
This is according to the CDP Ireland ‘Climate Change Report 2018’.
However, there was an improvement in the quality of emissions reduction, with a 56pc increase in the number of Irish companies achieving a ‘B’ grade or higher.
CDP is the international investor led non-profit that measures environmental impact of companies around the world.
It assessed over 7,000 companies in 2018 across a range of different environmental standards, providing investors with verifiable data upon which to base their decisions.
Overall and 257 companies reported to CDP in 2018 that are either headquartered or operating in Ireland, up 11pc on the previous year.
Irish listed PLCs making the top 10 in the report included AIB, Kingspan, CRH and Kerry Group, while the hotel group Dalata was welcomed as a first-time responder last year.
Among the companies asked to respond to the CDP’s questionnaire but didn’t included Cairn Homes, Paddy Power Betfair, Permanent TSB, and Ryanair.
Caroline Pope, chairperson of the CDP Ireland Network, said: “2018 has been a year of progress on climate action, but we still have some catching up to do given Ireland’s Climate Change Advisory Council has warned that the country is off course in achieving its 2020 and 2030 emissions reductions targets.”
“We want to see a thriving economy that works for people and the planet in the long term, and this requires companies and investors to build a truly sustainable economy by measuring and understanding their environmental impact”
Companies looking to improve their performance in their CDP ranking can do so by making commitments on reducing carbon emissions through the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi).
This initiative sees companies set targets in line with the level of decarbonisation required to keep global temperature increase below 2 degrees Celsius, consistent with the goals agreed at the 2015 Paris Climate Conference.
Setting goals to move towards using 100pc renewable energy also helps to improve CDP rankings.
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