Poll Shows Many Firms See Global Warming Affecting Their Business

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Most major companies see global warming as presenting "commercial risks or opportunities" to their business, but many of them are failing to curb their emission of greenhouse gases, a Britain-based group's survey indicated Sunday.

Most major companies see global warming as presenting "commercial risks or opportunities" to their business, but many of them are failing to curb their emission of greenhouse gases, a Britain-based group's survey indicated Sunday.


Among the 354 respondents to the survey, 92 percent said climate change has brought about "commercial risks and/or opportunities to their business," according to Carbon Disclosure Project.


CDP, which consists of 155 institutional investors and banks around the world, said only 45 percent of the respondents have established emission reduction targets and only 13 percent of them have reported a year-on-year reduction in their greenhouse gas emissions.


CDP polled some 500 major companies earlier this year, including Japanese ones. Among the Japanese firms, some 50, such as Toyota Motor Corp. and Tokyo Electric Power Co., responded to the survey but Bridgestone Corp., UFJ Holdings Inc., Softbank Corp. and several other companies did not.


The poll showed many companies are still slow in their efforts to cut greenhouse gases despite their increased awareness of the global warming issue, CDP officials said.


The officials also said the high response rate indicated many corporations are keen to disclose greenhouse gas emission data.


The group has conducted the annual survey since 2003, saying a company's stance on global warming is one of the criteria for investment.


Some of the Japanese respondents said an environmental tax or strict restrictions on emission would be risky for their business, while others took the issue positively as it may expand sales opportunities for energy-saving equipment.


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Source: Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News