CDP ropes in IT biggies to monitor climate change

NEW YORK, USA: The Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) today announced plans to build an improved and upgraded version of its global climate change disclosure system. The company has partnered with Accenture, Microsoft and SAP to deliver the new version.

The system will make available primary information on corporate emissions performance, collected for use by institutional investors, businesses and the world’s national regulatory systems, to drive greenhouse gas emission reductions and performance improvements.

The provision of high quality data on climate change and corporate carbon footprints will be vital to supporting a global framework post Kyoto, bridging the gap between corporations’ climate change reporting and government regulation.

Beginning in 2010, corporations will report to CDP through the new data system which will increase the quality of disclosure globally, meeting the demand from investors for more detailed, consistent, comparable and actionable data. It will streamline reporting for companies by providing enhanced tools and guidance through a single, fully accessible reporting platform.

This platform will enable data to be easily shared with and analyzed by institutional investors, corporations and the world’s national regulatory systems. With more user friendly output of information, CDP’s upgraded system will drive greater use of corporate climate change information within financial and strategic decision making.

Measurement, reporting and verification of emissions is a vital step for organizations looking to increase awareness of the impact of climate change. It enables them to lower costs by identifying efficiency measures, reduce climate change related risk to the business and also reveal commercial opportunities. It also enables a fuller assessment of senior management’s options with regard to strategic direction, innovations and capital projects.

CDP’s chief executive Paul Dickinson said, “Climate change is a global issue that requires a global solution. 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.”