| To disclose or not to disclose, that is the question! |
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As Paul Dickinson, CEO of CDP, has previously mentioned, there are significant national differences in the response to the annual CDP questionnaires. Paul, based on your experience, can you give examples of countries where companies are supportive or less supportive? The best responding companies are in UK, Switzerland and Brazil. There are a variety of reasons for this. In the UK we have investors excited by the potential of carbon markets. In Switzerland companies are very well run, and they understand long term risks and opportunities. Brazil is the Saudi Arabia of biofuels. Worst responses probably come from China where a culture of disclosure is rather new. And how does your experience match with the self- perception of the companies in these countries? Companies are as different as people, however the relationship between the political attitude of a country to climate change, and the responsiveness of companies in that country is often connected. You have been speaking of quality problems in data collection. What kind of quality aspects do you mean? Are we talking about technical insufficiencies, or is it more a general motivational problem? CDP is an enormous global undertaking with more than 1,300 corporations responding. For this reason both the problems you suggest apply. They are even connected. Technical insufficiencies usually result from insufficient motivation. Paul, thank you for the interview. More: s.walser@pe-international.com back to the newsletter |
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