Unilever achieved the rating for the fourth consecutive year achieving the maximum Disclosure score of 100, while it is the third year that L’Oréal has been awarded the top rating, this time with a score of 99.
The French and the Anglo-Dutch firms are two of 11 companies to achieve an ‘A’ in the Consumer Staples sector; with only 113 (5%) of participating companies overall awarded the top rating.
On the Materials side, Symrise, Givaudan, and IFF were among the companies to also receive an ‘A’ ranking.
Climate change importance
The announcement of the CPLI is somewhat timely given the upcoming UN Climate Change Conference (COP21) which aims to achieve a legally binding and universal agreement on climate, with the aim of keeping global warming below 2°C.
“Three weeks before the COP21, we are very proud of this recognition. It encourages us to go further in order to make significant contributions to the transition to a low carbon economy”, says Jean-Paul Agon, Chairman and CEO of L’Oreal.
“We believe that economic performance and social and environmental responsibility go hand in hand”.
From Unilever’s point of view, its Chief Sustainability Officer, Jeff Seabright says that it is becoming increasingly clear that climate change is one of, if not the greatest challenge, that we as a civilisation face on the planet in the 21st century.
“We are delighted to be among the growing movement of companies taking action on climate change,” he says.
“Increasing levels of action on climate change as well as disclosure of the action being taken is evidence of the seriousness with which climate change is being taken by governments, businesses and investors.”
Materials champions
Symrise, like Unilever, achieved the maximum Disclosure rating of 100, and the CDP also commented that it demonstrated ‘outstanding transparency regarding its climate activities to investors and the public.’
IFF also achieved a perfect score with Andreas Fibig, its CEO and Chairman, explaining that this honour confirms that the company is on the right path in its overall sustainability journey, and that it will continue efforts to reduce carbon emissions across its value chain.
Givaudan was also highlighted as an A list performer in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, with company CEO Gilles Andrier stating that: “Responsible growth is a cornerstone of our 2020 strategy and is essential to our commitment to offer sustainable solutions to our customers.”
Global index
Nearly 2000 companies globally participated in the CDP Climate Change 2015 questionnaire, which was independently assessed against CDP’s scoring methodology to achieve the ranking.