CDP teams up with cloud software firm to assess corporate emissions data

Investor-backed environmental data body CDP has, in collaboration with US cloud software firm Enviance, launched a new methodology to assess the accuracy of self-reported corporate emissions data.

It will also estimate Scopes 1, 2 and 3 emissions for companies that do not disclose them.

Under the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol, Scope 1 covers direct GHG emissions while Scope 2 covers the indirect emission of GHG from electricity purchases. Scope 3 covers all other indirect GHG emissions.

CDP, which works on behalf of 822 institutional investors with assets of US$95 trillion, called it a new ‘open-source methodology’ which aims to establish a ‘common language’ for greenhouse gas emissions estimates.

“This will help inform discussions on areas such as carbon footprinting and give investors access to high quality emissions data for use in portfolio analysis,” London-based CDP, the former Carbon Disclosure Project, said.“The inclusion of Scope 3 emissions signals investors’ changing perception of corporate greenhouse gas emissions from purely operational to value chain based,” it added.

Enviance, based in Carlsbad in California, provides cloud-based environmental, health and safety (EH&S) management software and was acquired by private equity and venture capital firm Battery Ventures for an undisclosed sum in February this year.

CDP went on to say that its investor-backed Carbon Action initiative, which targets companies, has this year helped reduce global corporate emissions by 641m tonnes of CO2e and led to a 130% increase in the number of emissions reduction projects.

“Throughout 2016 we’ll be re-grouping to: capitalize on the CDP data cleaning announced today; globalize the Carbon Catalyst Group that oversees the initiative from amongst CDP’s growing membership; and align the 2017 Carbon Action requests with CDP’s new sector research notes,” said Helen Wildsmith, Strategic Advisor, CDP Investor Initiatives. Link