CANADA'S LARGEST FIRMS SHOW LEADERSHIP IN CLIMATE CHANGE MANAGEMENT, BUT
WIDESPREAD CORPORATE ACTION LAGS

www.conferenceboard.ca

TORONTO, Oct 5 /CNW/ - Many of Canada's large publicly-traded companies have well-developed strategies and practices to manage climate change. But Canadian companies lag on setting emissions-reduction targets and obtaining third-party verification of their actions when compared to firms in other countries, according to the Canadian results from the 2010 Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), released today by The Conference Board of Canada.

The annual CDP information request asks 4700 of the largest companies in the world — including the largest 200 firms by market capitalization listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange — to disclose their greenhouse gas emissions and climate change strategies.

Large greenhouse gas (GHG) emitting companies are more likely to have comprehensive climate change strategies in place. In high-GHG emitting sectors, 70 per cent of respondents are taking or planning action on climate change opportunities, compared to 58 per cent from sectors with low emissions.

The 2010 Canadian results indicate a strong level of engagement and leadership at the highest corporate levels in the largest companies. More than three-quarters of respondents said that the board of directors, a board committee or an executive member of the board is responsible for climate change activities within their companies.

"Addressing the implications of climate change starts at the top. Most 2010 CDP respondents report that their boards now pay explicit attention to climate change. This level of engagement demonstrates that respondents are embedding the consideration of climate change in their strategic and operational plans, and in their management thinking," said Gilles Rhéaume, Vice-President, Public Policy, The Conference Board of Canada.

Responses concentrated among large companies

The 92 companies that answered the 2010 information request collectively represent 73 per cent of the combined $1.1 trillion in market capitalization of the 200 companies asked to respond. Close to 80 per cent of the companies with market capitalization of more than Cdn $10 billion responded, compared to 28 per cent in the group with the smallest market capitalization (Cdn $100 million to Cdn $1 billion). 

"The overall response rate declined slightly from the previous two years, but it is in line with the five-year CDP average in Canada. It is noteworthy that, the number of Canadian investors endorsing the CDP has increased over the five years. Yet, the response rate has leveled off over the same period," said Rhéaume.

Carbon Disclosure Leaders

The CDP recognizes 15 companies that demonstrate exceptional disclosure practices as Carbon Disclosure Leaders. This year's recipients include:

• ARC Energy Trust
• Bank of Montreal
• Barrick Gold
• Cameco Corporation
• Cenovus Energy
• Emera Inc.
• National Bank of Canada
• Nexen
• Pason Systems
• Russell Metals
• SNC-Lavalin
• Stantec
• Telus Corporation
• The Royal Bank of Canada
• TransAlta Corporation

International comparisons

The performance of Canadian companies compared to firms from peer countries or regions changed little between 2009 and 2010.

The Canadian response rate of 46 per cent in 2010 is lower than the response rate of firms in the European 300 (84 per cent), Brazil 80 (72 per cent), US S&P 500 (69 per cent), Nordic 200 (65 per cent) and Germany 200 (61 per cent). Canada's response rate is in the same range as the UK FTSE 600 (51 per cent), Australia 200 (47 per cent) and Japan 500 (41 per cent); and it exceeds the response rates among French and Italian companies.

Canadian companies improved their rankings on disclosure or performance relative to other countries or regions in three areas: engagement with policy makers on climate change; overall response rate; and the percentage of respondents seeing regulatory risks and opportunities.

Canadian firms continue to have mid-level rankings in having board-level governance, and in having management incentives for climate change in place.

"However, Canadian companies are lagging with regard to setting emission reduction targets, and having emissions data verified by external parties," said Rhéaume. "One possible reason for Canada's lower international ranking in these areas is the absence of firm climate change policies in North America, compared to the more established regimes in place in Europe and Scandinavia."

The Conference Board of Canada is releasing the Carbon Disclosure Project 2010 Canada 200 report today at simultaneous events in Toronto and Montreal.  A live webcast of the Toronto event is available at https://event.on24.com/eventRegistration/EventLobbyServlet?target=registration.jsp&eventid=236469&sessionid=1&key=64A888053FBBB8EF063CB82F8BC28E0A&sourcepage=register.

About the Carbon Disclosure Project

The CDP takes the pulse of corporate perceptions, strategies and actions on climate change. This year's information request was sent to 4700 of the world's largest publicly-traded companies on February 4, 2010. The CDP is endorsed in 2010 by 534 investment companies and organizations across the globe with a total of $US 64 trillion under management.

This project was undertaken with the financial support of the Government of Canada provided through the Department of the Environment.

The 2010 CDP sponsors are:

• Bank of Montreal
• British Columbia Investment Management Corporation
• Caisse de dépôt et placements du Québec
• Canada Pension Plan Investment Board
• CSA Group
• Deloitte
• Enbridge Inc.
• NATIONAL Public Relations
• Northwest & Ethical Investments
• Scotiabank
• TD Asset Management Inc.
• TMX Group, Inc.

For further information:

Brent Dowdall, Media Relations, Tel.: [phone] ext.  448
E-mail: [email protected]