Global companies snub survey on climate change

	THE GUARDIAN

Global companies snub survey on climate change

David Adam, environment correspondent
Thursday September 15, 2005

More than 100 of the world's largest companies have been accused of not facing up to global warming after they snubbed a global survey of corporate attitudes to climate change.

Aerospace company Boeing, computer giant Apple, online retailer Amazon and News Corporation, which publishes the Sun and Times newspapers, are among the organisations that failed to respond to a survey from the Carbon Disclosure Project, which launched a report on its findings yesterday in New York.

Acting on behalf of institutional investors with combined assets of more than £11 trillion, the London-based project asked the heads of the largest 500 companies how big a risk climate change posed to their business and what they were doing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Of the 354 firms that responded, 90% said climate change posed commercial risks or opportunities and 63% claimed they were taking steps to cut emissions.

Paul Dickinson, coordinator of the project, said: "Investors are very concerned that climate change is going to have a significant impact on the financial performance of companies. Through us they are asking the companies they own for the information they need to make decisions on who will be the winners and losers. It is certainly very disappointing that companies didn't respond. I think it would be reasonable to say that such companies are somewhat careless in their attitudes."

Morgan Stanley, Time Warner, Harley-Davidson and Wal-Mart also failed or declined to respond to the survey.

BSkyB told the survey: "Climate change and the policy responses to climate change pose both commercial risks and opportunities to our business." But a spokesman for News Corporation, BSkyB's US-based biggest shareholder, said: "I think it's pretty obvious that a media company does not have a carbon issue. I don't see why you would single us out on an issue that clearly is not relevant to our business."

Catherine Pearce, climate campaigner with Friends of the Earth, said: "It's shocking, out of date and will make them look ridiculous in many people's eyes. How many times can they refuse to acknowledge what is going on around them?" She welcomed the survey, but pointed out that the responses were self-reported and that it was difficult to check whether companies who said they were taking action followed through on their promises.