CDP Climate Change Report 2016

We Mean Business:
Commit to action
Companies are taking direct and ambitious
action on climate change. More than 465
companies have made commitments to climate
action via the We Mean Business commitments
platform “Commit to Action,” representing a
tenfold increase in two years.
Progress in 2016 has remained strong,
suggesting a positive response to the Paris
Agreement and its universal commitment to a
low-carbon economy.
Setting science based targets
is the right thing to do, but also
makes perfect business sense.
Setting a science-based target
directly answered the needs of our
customers, all of whom are thinking
about their own carbon footprints.
It is also critical for investors who
need to know that we are thinking
of potential risks, in the short-,
medium- and long-term.
Laurel Peacock
Senior Sustainability Manager
NRG Energy
Companies have been adopting more
aggressive targets—around emissions
reductions, renewable energy, deforestation,
water, and energy productivity—and
improving operational or governance
measures for climate risk through use
a price on carbon, more responsible policy
engagement mechanisms, and greater
transparency on climate governance in
mainstream reports.
Corporate action has grown across all of
these issues. The strongest growth has been
in companies committing to science-based
emissions reduction targets, from 50
companies in late 2015 to nearly
190 today.
Companies in 42 countries have taken
action.
At the beginning of 2015 just 3 US companies
had made commitments via this platform. By
Paris, this number had grown to more than
50 companies. The fastest growing issue
with US companies has been science-based
targets, with 33 companies making that
commitment. Climate action remains popular
with European companies, with 237 taking
action, predominantly in mainstream reporting
on climate and science-based target setting.
465+
Companies
+$10
Trillion USD
183
Investors
>US$20.7 Trillion
Assets Under
Management
1000+
Commitments
24