CDP Ireland Network chair, Shane O’Reilly. Image: CDP
Kingspan, ESB, AIB Group and Accenture have been named on the ‘A List’ by environmental group CDP for their climate actions.
In the latest CDP rankings of global company performance when it comes to addressing the climate crisis, four Ireland-based companies have made the ‘A List’.
Joining this year’s list were Kingspan, ESB, AIB Group and Accenture, which are among a group of companies believed to be leading on environmental transparency and action, based on their annual disclosure through CPD’s climate questionnaire.
EU-funded charity CDP – formerly called the Carbon Disclosure Project – measures the environmental impact of companies on behalf of 515 global investors representing $106trn in assets. This year, the number of companies to make the A List rose by 50pc globally to 312, with major multinationals including AstraZeneca, Mars and Toyota also making the list.
In Ireland, the number of A List companies doubled in 2020, with ESB joining the list for the first time. Ireland performs relatively well in the rankings, with 8pc of the 48 companies measured by CDP getting A List status, versus the 5pc global average.
‘The race is on’
“It is a tremendous achievement for four Irish companies to obtain A List status this year, and indicative of how seriously Irish corporates are taking their environmental obligations,” said CDP Ireland Network’s chair, Shane O’Reilly.
“Despite the challenges of Covid, the CDP Ireland Network is growing from strength to strength and it is exciting that we will have 17 new Irish companies responding when we publish the full CDP Ireland report next February.”
However, CDP said that despite the big increase in A List companies, 74pc of all companies measured still only achieved C or D scores. It expressed more concern that almost 12,000 companies were marked with a F grade for failing to disclose data, despite being requested to by investors or their customers.
Maxfield Weiss, director for corporate engagement at CDP Europe, added: “Exactly five years since global leaders shook hands on the Paris Agreement, it’s encouraging to see 70pc more companies reporting on their environmental action and that, this year, over 300 are on the A List.
“We now need these A List pioneers to inspire more corporates to act on climate change, forests and water security, and help ensure that the private sector takes a leadership role when EU environmental targets ratchet up. The race is on.”
