by Shane Henson — November 9, 2011—The Environmental Investment Organization (EIO), a U.K.-based non-governmental organization supported by a global research network, aims to persuade more companies to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and report comprehensive Scope 1, 2 and 3 data through the launch of a series of Environmental Tracking (ET) global carbon rankings, a few of which are sure to spark some controversy and discussion.
According to EIO, the four regional rankings complement the flagship ET Global 800 Carbon Ranking, which looks purely at the largest 800 companies across the world without any geographical bias. All rankings went live simultaneously at 11 a.m. (GMT) on November 1, 2011.
The ET North America 300, ET Asia Pacific 300, and ET BRICS 300, as well as the updated ET Europe 300, have been designed to put the spotlight on standards of public greenhouse gas emissions reporting across the world.
With the introduction earlier this month of the long-awaited New Scope 3 Standard from the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, the EIO has taken a proactive approach to incentivize companies to adopt this important new standard in GHG Reporting. The finalized standard has been the result of a three-year global, multi-stakeholders process that included more than 2,300 participants and was road-tested by 60 companies in 17 countries.
This latest set of ET Carbon Rankings builds on the methodology established previously for the ET UK 100 and ET Europe 300, launched in April 2011, where companies were placed into one of four Disclosure and Verification categories based on their Scope 1 & 2 emissions, and then ranked by carbon intensity. The EIO has taken the decision to reward companies who report Scope 3 emissions (all other indirect emissions that a company has influence over but does not control directly) over and above the company’s emissions intensity. The results could spark controversy throughout the business and carbon community.
It has long been the EIO’s stated view that Scope 1 & 2 emissions do not in themselves provide an accurate picture of a company’s carbon impact and therefore a bold approach needs to be taken in distinguishing between those companies reporting Scope 3 and those that are not.
Scope 3 emissions are certainly the most controversial of the three Scopes identified under the GHG Protocol; yet according to a report from ACCA, and corroborated by the EIO’s own research, they can frequently account for more than 75% of a company’s total carbon footprint.
Some companies have already shown themselves to be leaders in assessing and curbing Scope 3 emissions, including BASF, Apple and Wal Mart. Wal Mart, for example, a global company with a vast supply chain, now demands that its suppliers disclose comprehensive Scope 1 & 2 emissions, or risk being overlooked. If every company in the ET Global Carbon Rankings were to follow suit, the potential emissions reductions would be huge, asserts EIO.
