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Out of the 100 largest companies on the UK stock exchange, less than half have published a plan to reduce their carbon emissions, according to a Guardian survey. So far, 18 have refused to even release figures on their current carbon footprint. While it's not a legal requirement to do so, there is mounting pressure on companies to cut emissions from the public, customers and the government alike.
The lack of a public plan doesn't necessarily indicate the company doesn't have an internal plan to cut emissions, but it does mean customers can't gauge the success of any efforts -- or even if they have made any at all. In the case of companies that have refused to publish their carbon footprint, it also makes it difficult for anyone determined to invest or shop ethically. You can't avoid energy-hungry companies if you don't know which ones they are, and that may be the very reason some of these businesses are keeping quiet about their power consumption habits.
"Sadly I'm not surprised. For years we've talked about the limits to voluntary action. These companies need to have clear economic and regulatory signals from government that they need to work out how to reduce their emissions, because otherwise they won't, and your survey shows that," said Tony Juniper, head of Friends of the Earth, to the Guardian.
We think it's a fairly safe assumption that a company large enough to be in the FTSE 100 is going to have reasonably large emissions. Out of the published figures, ExxonMobil is the largest source of carbon emissions, equivalent to the whole of Saudi Arabia, claims the Guardian.
68 companies on the exclusive list have given their carbon footprints to the Carbon Disclosure Project for public listing, and a further 18 have provided the figures with the caveat that they are not released into the public domain. Although the reason for this is unknown, it's possible that the companies are worried about a public backlash due to high numbers.
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