Dusseldorf This list is considered the “gold standard” for the efforts of companies in terms of climate and environmental protection: Only companies that receive top marks from the non-profit organization are on the A list of the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP). This year only 272 of 12,000 companies worldwide managed to do so, as the current CDP list shows.
14 companies from Germany are among them: First and foremost, the fragrance and aroma manufacturer Symrise with three A grades in the categories of climate, forests and water protection. The mechanical engineering company Gea achieved two top ratings for climate and water. In addition, there are corporations such as Bayer, Bosch, Deutsche Telekom and SAP with individual A grades.
Five German companies did not make it onto the A list again after 2020, including the energy producer EnBW and the trading group Metro. The CDP has significantly tightened its requirements, especially with regard to climate protection. In addition, the pandemic and crises in the supply chain would have impaired the ability of some companies to disclose their data in the best possible way.
CDP, based in London, is now one of the largest environmental protection organizations in the world. Behind it are nearly 600 large institutional investors with more than $ 110 trillion in assets under management. The classification by the CDP is also important for companies because it can have a direct impact on their stock market valuation.
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Many fund companies now base their investment decisions on how strongly and successfully the companies are involved in environmental and climate protection issues. The CDP provides data that is used in Germany by Dekra funds and Union Investment, among others.
Green companies have recently been more profitable
Companies that do well in the three environmental dimensions would have given their shareholders a good performance in the past, according to the CDP. The A-rated companies are bundled in the “Stoxx Global Climate Change Leaders” share index. According to calculations by the organization, this index has achieved an average annual return of 5.8 percentage points higher than its reference index, the “Stoxx Global 1800”, since 2021.
With 272 companies, the A-list is very short for 12,000 companies examined. 35 percent were rated either C or D by the CDP, which means they are only just beginning to recognize their environmental impact. Germany was unable to defend its leading position from last year and is falling back to third place. Most of the companies on the A list this year come from France.
The Symrise Group, which was promoted to the leading index Dax in autumn, already achieved three top marks in 2020. From 2030, the Holzminden-based company wants to operate in a climate-positive manner, i.e. contribute to stopping global warming. According to its own information, Symrise has been meeting its global electricity needs from renewable energies since 2020 – five years earlier than initially planned. Over the past ten years, Symrise has reduced its greenhouse gas emissions in relation to value added by more than half.
Deutsche Telekom also received an A grade for climate protection goals. The Bonn-based group wants to reduce all direct and indirect emissions in the company to zero by 2025. All emissions that arise during the manufacture and use of telecommunications products are to be reduced by 25 percent per customer by 2030.
Protect forests, save water
For an “A” in terms of forest and water protection, companies must demonstrate a strong commitment to reducing deforestation or securing sufficient fresh water. According to the CDP, Symrise sets standards here. In the Brazilian Amazon region, 150 endangered plant and animal species are to be protected through a new project by the Group. In Madagascar, Symrise is co-financing a project that is protecting forest areas from deforestation. And in India, Symrise has expanded the sustainable cultivation of the patchouli plant, which is used to make perfumes.
In addition, the Dax group tries to use water sparingly. For its production, the group needs ingredients such as vanilla, whose cultivation requires a lot of water. By 2025, all production sites in arid regions should increase their water efficiency by 15 percent compared to 2018. The company wants to achieve this by changing production processes with water-saving technologies.
Methods and technologies that aim to reuse the used water are highly valued by the CDP. The mechanical and plant engineering company Gea Group has made it onto the top list of the environmental protection organization.
The Düsseldorf company is one of the leading manufacturers of systems with which systems can be cleaned with significantly less water. Gea has built a new milk powder production facility for the largest Indian dairy cooperative. According to Gea, the system does not consume any fresh water because 100 percent of the evaporated water is condensed and reused.
More: Green investments: banks euphoric, customers skeptical.