CARBON DISCLOSURE PROJECT AND CADBURY SCHWEPPES ANNOUNCE SUPPLY CHAIN INITIATIVE COLLABORATION
09 Oct 07
The Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), a collaboration of over 315 institutional investors with assets under management of more than $41 trillion, will announce today a Supply Chain Leadership Collaboration (SCLC) with Cadbury Schweppes. The collaboration will engage Cadbury Schweppes' supply chain to report carbon footprints and climate change-relevant information, such as greenhouse gas emissions data, emissions reduction targets and climate change strategy.
"This partnership between CDP and Cadbury Schweppes is a very significant milestone in corporate action to mitigate climate change," said CDP Chief Executive Paul Dickinson. "By engaging its supply chain in the CDP process, Cadbury Schweppes will encourage its suppliers to measure and manage their greenhouse gas emissions, and ultimately reduce the total carbon footprint of Cadbury Schweppes' indirect emissions. We look forward to other corporations following Cadbury Schweppes' example and partnering with CDP."
Steve Driver, President Global Supply Chain, commented: "Through our Purple Goes Green Climate Change initiative we have committed to forge alliances and positively influence others within our value chain to put climate change onto the agenda. By joining forces with peers and partners throughout the supply chain we hope to reduce the carbon footprint of the food manufacturing sector."
Cadbury Schweppes renewed its commitment to tackling climate change earlier this year in its Purple Goes Green strategy, leading the food manufacturing sector in committing to a 50% absolute reduction in carbon emissions by 2020, as well as setting targets for packaging and water-use reduction.
Details of the supply chain collaboration will be revealed today by Paul Dickinson at the UK launch of CDP's 5th report in London. Sir Terry Leahy, Chief Executive Officer Tesco; Sir Tom McKillop, Chairman of RBS and Bob Wigley, Chairman, Merrill Lynch EMEA are also among the speakers at the launch, which will take place at Gibson Hall, 13 Bishopsgate, London. EC2N 3BA at 9am.
FTSE350 Report Findings
The FTSE350 report is based on responses provided by constituent companies of the UK FTSE 350 index; the largest 350 listed companies in the UK by market capitalisation. The FTSE350 report examines key trends in greenhouse gas (GHG) disclosures to the CDP from FTSE 350 companies. It also explores how company sector and company size affect the propensity to disclose information on GHG emissions and the nature of those disclosures.
Response rates among FTSE 350 companies increased dramatically from 49% in CDP4 to 70% in CDP5.
FTSE 100 companies had a very high response rate; 92% of companies answered the CDP5 questionnaire.
A tremendous increase in responses from FTSE 250 companies from 36% in CDP4 to 61% in 2007.
Combining CDP5 results (from FTSE100 and FTSE250) shows that 70% of FTSE 350 companies answered the questionnaire. In CDP4 it was 49%.
The percentage of FTSE 350 companies which provided quantitative emissions data rose from 27% in CDP4 to 46%.
Despite an increase in the response rates and quality of disclosure, there is still a minority of companies who are not engaged in the issues of climate change and who fail to respond to investors' request for disclosure through CDP. In many cases these companies have not considered the risks or opportunities associated with climate change within their business strategy.
Paul Dickinson, CEO of CDP said: "Increasingly, investors view good carbon management as a sign of good corporate management. Our investors are using the quality of the disclosure as a very useful tool to assess how seriously a company is taking the issues of climate change. As CDP data plays an increasingly important role in informing investors on a company's approach to climate change, the pressure is increasing on companies to respond. And, by moving CDP data collection into company supply chain management, CDP's reach will grow enormously."
Cadbury Schweppes was judged among the best in its sector in this year's CDP Carbon Disclosure Index for the fourth year running, distinguished strategic awareness of the risks and opportunities of climate change, as well as the quality and effectiveness of programmes put in place to reduce emissions.
