Washington - Suppliers to some of the world's largest corporations are reporting their greenhouse-gas emissions this week as part of a private bid to curb global warming. The data are part of a pilot survey of the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), a British-based collaboration of 385 private investment firms including Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley that follows corporate business trends. The project aims to convince business there are ways to profit from reducing emissions.
Although the total findings of the survey will be announced in January 2009, suppliers to companies like Dell and Hewlett Packard and others, including Cadbury Schweppes, Procter & Gamble and Unilever, have already submitted reviews detailing their greenhouse gas emissions, according to a CDP statement.
The goal of the CDP survey is to measure carbon risks and liabilities in the supply chain, said Mark Newton, Dell's senior manager responsible for environmental policy. But, he said, that is not the only goal of the project.
"Think of it as a registry of climate impact," Newton said in an interview, explaining that he is a staunch supporter of the project. "More than half of our suppliers did publish their (emissions data). It shows that they have systems in place to supply quantitative measures. They get it. They care."
Among several findings available on the CDP Web site, a majority of the 144 responding firms foresee extreme weather conditions harming operations and productivity. In addition, 96 per cent of suppliers cooperating with the clearinghouse for corporate environmental policy see climate change regulation as a potential risk to their bottom line.
The survey feedback suggests that publicly sharing emissions data is good for business because it encourages energy conservation and greater efficiency, Newton said.
Participants are still learning how to collect data on their emissions, said Paul Dickinson, the chief executive officer of CDP. Ultimately, they will look at ways to prove to consumers they are responding to global concerns about climate change, he added.
"It's about paying attention," Dickinson said. "A lot of this is about brand perception. It sets priorities. Money is going toward companies providing solutions."
The combined investment muscle behind the organization is about 57 trillion dollars.
The survey is anticipated to include responses from some 1,300 suppliers, including newer participants in the effort like Carrefour, Exelon Corporation, Heinz, IBM, and Vodafone. Their suppliers include private companies and businesses based in China, the base for a significant number of suppliers to large multinationals.
The survey shows how serious corporations are getting about emissions produced in all stages of their supply chain, Dickinson said.
"It is only by asking suppliers the right questions that large corporations will be able to manage their supply chain emissions," he said.
