Carbon Disclosure Project
Unilever has been recognised as being the best company in its sector (Food Products) for its approach to climate change disclosure, in a report released by the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP).
The CDP is a coalition of more than 315 global investors with combined assets in excess of $41 trillion (€29 trillion). Its report is a questionnaire-based survey of Financial Times 500 corporations on the issue of climate change. It covers issues including climate change risks, opportunities and strategy, greenhouse gas emission accounting and management, and climate change governance.
Unilever has participated in the CDP questionnaire every year since its inception in 2002. In this year's report - the CDP5 - Unilever, which scored 90 out of a possible 100 points, was again included in the Climate Disclosure Leadership Index (CDLI). This is a prestigious honour roll for global corporations recognised to be taking definite action in an effort to address the challenges of climate change.
Companies included on the CDLI are distinguished by the disclosure of their awareness of the risks and opportunities of climate change, as well as the quality and effectiveness of any measures taken to reduce overall greenhouse gas reductions.
Unilever is aiming to achieve a further 25% reduction (on a load per tonne of production basis) in its CO2 emissions by 2012, giving a total reduction of around 43% since 1996.
Commenting on this latest accolade, Henry King, Sustainability Manager, Unilever Safety & Environmental Assurance Centre (SEAC) says: "I am very pleased that Unilever has been elected as 'best of class' in climate reporting. This is an important external indicator that demonstrates our commitment to improving our environmental performance and confirms the substantial progress that we have made towards achieving our objectives in these areas. Such achievement would not be possible without the constant efforts of staff worldwide."
