- 86% of Italian companies now have emissions reduction targets
- 98% report board-level responsibility for climate change issues
- 18 cities and regions have targets to reduce their emissions, including Milan, Venice and Naples
- Six Italian companies named on CDP’s global A List of environmental leaders
- But only one company to-date has an approved emissions reduction target in line with the Paris Agreement
La Spezia, October 03, 2018: A new report showing how Italy’s largest, most environmentally-impactful companies, cities, states and regions are responding to the challenges of climate change, water insecurity and deforestation is published today by CDP, the global environmental impact non-profit.
The CDP Italy Report, launched today at a UNFCCC event with the Italian Environmental Ministry in La Spezia, features 48 of Italy’s biggest, most environmentally-impactful companies, plus 25 cities and regions representing almost 40 million people.
It shows that almost 9 in 10 Italian companies have now set emissions reductions targets, and that in almost all companies (96%) responsibility for climate topics is at the board-level.
But analysis reveals a significant gap between companies’ recognition of the risks and opportunities brought by the economy’s low-carbon transition and the ambitious action required.
Only eight companies to-date have future-proofed their growth by formally committing to establish a science-based emissions reduction target via the Science Based Targets initiative[1], which means committing to reduce emissions at the level required to keep the increase in global temperature below 2 degrees Celsius, the central aim of the Paris Agreement.
ENEL SpA is the only company so far to have its target officially approved.
And while Italian companies are actively increasing their environmental data to measure and take action on climate-related risks, fewer focus yet on deforestation and water security risks.
Italian companies and cities are heavily affected by water-related issues. 50% of Italian regions report major risks to their water supplies, and 50% of companies are exposed to water risks. Nonetheless, only 40% of the major companies requested by investors to disclose water data did so, while for climate change 56% of requested companies did not respond.
Further key findings from today’s analysis include:
- Companies are planning for the transition - 86% report active emission reduction targets
- Climate change action is led from the board - 98% of responding companies now have board or senior management-level responsibility for climate change, with 86% using incentives for the management of climate change issues.
- Climate change poses risks but also brings new opportunities - with 95% of responders seeing both regulatory risks and opportunities. 86% of responders seeing physical risks and 76% seeing physical opportunities.
- Cities and regions are becoming more resilient - 21 cities and 4 regions are now disclosing climate data
- Committing to change - 24 companies have established on internal price on carbon or plan to do so and 2 companies have committed to 100% renewable power through the RE100 initiative. With 3 regions establishing energy efficiency and renewable energy targets.
Steven Tebbe, Managing Director of CDP Europe, said: “Italian companies have made good progress in accelerating action on climate change. In many ways, they are part of European leadership, with boardrooms responsible for strategy across nearly all companies and target-setting becoming the norm. But this report also reveals that there is a way to go before Italian non-state actors are in line with the objectives of the Paris Agreement. Business is awake to the risks posed by climate change, but they must ensure their targets are ambitious enough to transition their businesses to the level and at the speed needed. That means setting science-based emission reductions targets, and engaging thoroughly with their water and deforestation-related risks. There is a gap in action, and we encourage more engagement.
Francesco La Camera, Director General for Sustainable Development, Environmental Damage, European Union and International Affairs at the Italian Ministry for Environment, Land and Sea, said: Our collaboration with CDP represents the latest example of Italy’s leadership within Europe and our commitment to driving more awareness by Italian companies, cities, states and regions of their environmental impact. More transparency and accountability among Italy’s most impactful organizations is critical to ensuring we can track our progress and increase our ambition. This includes improving the quantity and quality of disclosure on water security and deforestation issues, which are central to our climate change efforts as we work towards realizing the Paris Agreement and SDGs.
CDP’s Italy Report 2017 is launched today in La Spezia at an event titled ““Achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement: a global challenge that needs also a local commitment” co-organized by the UNFCCC and the Italian Ministry for the Environment, Land and Sea Protection.
ENDS
For more information, or interviews, please contact:
- Josh Snodin – CDP – +4917645910909 – [email protected]
About the CDP Italy Report 2017CDP’s analysis assesses a sample of 100 companies, 44 (44%) of which responded to the request to disclose on climate change made on behalf of over 650 institutional investor signatories with assets of US$87 trillion. These responding sample companies represent 70% of the market capitalization of the sample, set in 2017 as a benchmark for corporate action on climate change representing the most significant companies in Italy in terms of market capitalization and environmental impact.
[1] The Science Based Targets initiative is a collaboration between CDP, World Resources Institute (WRI), the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), and the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) and one of the We Mean Business Coalition commitments. In total, over 300 companies have committed to set emissions reduction targets through the initiative.