by Rebecca Walker — November 15, 2010—British businesses are struggling to report their corporate carbon footprint, a Deloitte survey has revealed. The survey of carbon reporting practices looks at how 100 U.K.- listed companies publicly report their corporate carbon footprint (also known as their greenhouse gas emissions). The business advisory firm found that only a handful of companies came “within striking distance” of complying with current U.K. guidance.
In September 2009 the Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) published step-by-step guidance on how to measure and report greenhouse gas emissions and how to minimize them. The business advisory firm’s report indicates that an overhaul of the current carbon reporting practices will be necessary if these guidelines become mandatory.
Among the results, the Deloitte’s survey revealed that only 9 percent of companies disclosed that information on carbon had been reported in line with the Defra guidance and only 8 per cent of companies said that their reporting information had been assured by a third party.
The U.K.’s Climate Change Act 2008 sets the framework for how the U.K. will manage and respond to the threat of climate change. Under the Act, the U.K. must reduce total GHG emissions by at least 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050.
For more information, see the Deloitte Web site.
