CDP rolls out improved carbon reporting system

The Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) is rolling out a new and improved global climate change disclosure system in an effort to both encourage greenhouse gas emission reductions and boost the performance of corporations.

Being developed in partnership with Accenture, Microsoft and SAP, the new system will streamline the reporting process for corporations, as well as provide investors with more detailed and actionable data on what companies are doing to reduce their climate impact.

“Climate change is a global issue that requires a global solution,” said Paul Dickinson, CDP’s chief executive. “With our new improved data tools and capabilities we are providing a world-class reporting platform that will assist in the sharing of high-quality climate change data on an international scale and eventually integrate with existing national regulatory systems. This global hub of information will be essential to supporting a global deal post-Kyoto.”

According to the CDP, high-quality data on corporate carbon footprints are vital to support a global agreement on climate change, something international leaders hope to hammer out in Copenhagen this December.

Corporations will be able to use the new data system to report to the CDP starting next year.

The CDP says the new system will make reporting easier for companies by providing enhanced tools and guidance through a single, fully accessible reporting platform. The platform will also enable data to be easily shared with and analysed by institutional investors, corporations and the world’s national regulatory systems.

With more user-friendly output of information, the upgraded system will drive greater use of corporate climate change information within financial and strategic decision-making, the CDP says.

Accurately measuring, reporting and verifying carbon emissions helps companies identify cost-saving efficiency measures, reduce climate change-related risks and reveals commercial opportunities. This not only help organisations reveal emissions “hot spots” so they can be better managed, but also helps to prepare them for future regulation.

“Effective carbon disclosure helps corporations mitigate investment risk and achieve more sustainable performance,” said Mark Foster, group chief executive for management consulting & global markets at Accenture, which will will work as a solution integrator and provide strategic guidance for the implementation of the new reporting platform. “The simplicity, standardisation and transparency of disclosure will make CDP the de facto process for reporting carbon emissions and an indispensible tool for helping the corporations and governments of the world take action.”

“Gathering and tracking environmental data is one of the biggest challenges facing organizations today,” said Rob Bernard, chief environmental strategist at Microsoft, which will will work on all aspects of data capture within the new version of the CDP platform. “Technology and innovation can play a significant role in driving solutions to address the world’s environmental challenges.”

SAP will use its SAP® BusinessObjects™ BI OnDemand solution to store and deliver the carbon disclosure reports and dashboards to users.

“As a driving force behind CDP’s carbon benchmarking analytics, SAP technology will provide organisations, investors and governments around the world clarity on progress against carbon reduction targets,” said Anirban Chakrabarti, vice president and general manager of SAP Carbon Impact. “Reducing the carbon emissions of both SAP and our 89,000 global customers is a top-level strategic and operational issue for our company.”