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CDP Report 2009
Survey of Switzerland's 100 largest companies.
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Ethos Foundation
 

2007 Report
2008 Report

Carbon Disclosure Project's third survey for Switzerland

17 November 2009
How well are Swiss companies prepared for the outcome of the Copenhagen Conference?
The Ethos Foundation and Pictet Asset Management are today publishing the results of the third Carbon Disclosure Project, a survey among Swiss listed companies to find out about their strategies with regard to climate change.
 
The essential in brief
The results of the survey show that around 56% of all the companies contacted were prepared to provide investors with information about their climate change strategies. As a result, the response rate was relatively low, although it was roughly similar to that in the previous year, i.e. 57%. Furthermore, 37% of the companies which took part in the survey do not want their answers to be disclosed to a wider audience. This year more companies provided information about their direct CO2 emissions than in the previous year (72% compared with 64%). However, the number of companies which collate data on the indirect CO2 emissions, i.e. the emissions produced when their products and services are used, is still very low.

Main results of the 2009 CDP survey
Investors with long-term horizons have a key interest in finding out about the climate change strategies of the companies they are investing in. The Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) is the largest shareholder initiative of its kind worldwide and serves precisely this purpose. It is supported by 475 institutional investors with assets under management totalling more than USD 55 trillion.

This year was the third time that the Ethos Foundation and Pictet Asset Management have conducted the survey among the 100 largest Swiss listed companies as part of the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), analysed their responses and summarised them in a report.

The main results of the Swiss 2009 CDP survey are as follows:

  • Only 56% of all the companies contacted were prepared to take part in what is the biggest survey of its kind worldwide. Although the response rate was in line with the international average, it is still sobering when compared with the rate in leading countries such as the United Kingdom (95%) or even countries such as South Africa (68%).
  • 37% of the Swiss companies which took part in the survey did not want their answers to be disclosed to a wider audience. However, the share of companies who were not prepared to disclose the information they provided was down from 47% one year earlier.
  • 72% of companies in Switzerland see climate change as an opportunity rather than a threat. However, this welcome optimistic assessment is not obvious in every case owing to the detailed nature of the responses.
  • This year, more companies gave information about their direct CO2 emissions than one year ago (72% compared with 64%). However, the number of companies which collate data on the indirect CO2 emissions, i.e. the emissions produced when their products and services are used, is still very low.
  • The Climate Disclosure Leadership Index (CDLI) ranking, which was applied to Switzerland for the first time this year, showed Swiss Re well ahead of a pack comprising Novartis, BEKB, UBS, Geberit, Credit Suisse and Georg Fischer, although the chasing pack is bunched tightly together.
  • The primary purpose of the CDLI ranking is to assess companies' readiness to take part in the survey and the quality of the reporting and not to give an actual measure of their carbon footprint. This explains why, for example, companies in the financial sector which show a great readiness to share information, but that only seldom provide information about the indirect emissions from their financing activities, tend to fare better than average.
  • As a rule, the results of the survey show that large international companies, which often have subsidiaries that are covered by the European Union Emission Trading System often do particularly well.
  • An analysis of companies' complete value creation chains also reveals that companies do not always make the most significant efforts where their activities actually have the greatest impact on the climate.

In December 2009, representatives of governments from around the world will meet in Copenhagen to negotiate the successor agreement to the Kyoto Protocol, which is due to expire in 2012. This will be a landmark agreement, as it will determine whether we are willing and in a position to avert the threat of climate change. Underlining the significance of the Conference, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon recently spoke of a "once-in-a-generation opportunity".

As a signatory of the Kyoto Protocol, Switzerland will also play an active part in the negotiations in Copenhagen. As a result, the agreed reduction targets will also be binding on Switzerland and Swiss companies. In addition, the Swiss Federal Council wants to open negotiations with the European Union about Swiss membership of the European Union Emission Trading System (EU-ETS) immediately after the Copenhagen Conference. This is why it is crucial that companies take the issue of climate change seriously and inform investors about their climate change strategies.

Carbon Disclosure Project
The results of the survey allow investors to optimise their investment processes by taking climate-related risks into account. This is important, as many investors fear that the consequences of climate change - in addition to the moral responsibility that is automatically felt by capital providers – will have an impact on the value of a company. They therefore have a keen interest in knowing about the threats and risks associated with climate change so that they can bear them in mind when making their investment decisions. Thus, the present report is also a step towards greater transparency, as it gives investors access to the key climate-related information they require and which plays a role in determining the future viability of the company, both from the point of view of investors and the welfare of society.