Johnson & Johnson, Nestle, China Mobile and Microsoft did but no firms in the active lifestyle industry scored top marks in CDP’s prestigious annual rankings of corporate efforts to slow climate change.

The release of this year’s “A-Lists” was timed to the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos that brings together international leaders for a week of high-level discussions on the future of the global economy, including ecological threats to economic growth.

Designed to harness the competitive spirit of business to raise ambition and spur action on corporate sustainability, CDP’s annual rankings score the thousands of companies that disclose their environmental action to the organization. Split across climate Change, Water Security and Forests, the A Lists provide a holistic picture of how the corporate world is addressing environmental issues.

However, only 140, or two percent, of the 6,800 firms that submitted data to CDP, made the “A List” of CDP’s index. The rankings of the “A List” companies can be found HERE.

A total of 127 companies made the A-List for Climate Change. Some retail-related companies making the Climate Change A-list included: Apple , Bayer AG, Best Buy, Carrefour, Electrolux, Hewlett Packard, J Sainsbury, Kering, LEGO Group, L’Oréal, Microsoft, Nestlé, Owens Corning, Philip Morris International, Sony, Stanley Black & Decker, Home Depot and Unilever.

A significantly smaller pool of organizations is asked to respond on forests and water than climate so more companies responding and receiving an A score for climate.

A total of 27 companies made this year’s Water Security A List, including Bayer AG, Gap, General Mills, L’Oréal, Microsoft, Stanley Black & Decker and  Suntory Beverage & Food. Only seven companies made this year’s Forests A List: Beiersdorf AG, BillerudKorsnäs, Firmenich Sa, Fuji Oil Holdings, L’oréal, Tetra Pak And Upm-Kymmene Corp.

CDP assesses companies on the comprehensiveness of their climate disclosure, their awareness and management of environmental risks. It also takes into account their demonstration of best practices and their environmental leadership, such as setting ambitious and meaningful targets.

The Climate A List was established in 2011 and introduced for water and forests in 2015 and 2016 respectively. Companies receive scores of A to D- for how effectively they are tackling Climate Change, Water Security and Forests.

The rankings of all 6,800 companies can be found HERE.

Scores for companies in the active-lifestyle space:

  • Hanesbrands, the parent of Hanes and Champion, scored an “A-” on Climate Change and “B-” on Water Security.
  • Nike earned a “C” on Climate Change.
  • Adidas earned a “B” on Climate Change and “B-” on Water Security.
  • Puma scored a “B” for Climate Change.
  • Gildan Activewear  scored a “B” for Climate Change.
  • Nordstrom scored a “B” for Climate Change.
  • JD Sports Fashion earned a “B” for Climate Change
  • JC Penney earned a “B-” for Climate Change.
  • Macy’s scored a “C” for Climate Change.
  • Kohl’s scored a “C” for Climate Change.
  • PVH earned a “C” on Climate Change and “B” on Water Security.
  • VF Corp. earned a “C” on Climate Change, “C” on Water Security and a “C” for Forests.
  • Amer Sports earned a “D” for Climate Change.
  • Newell Brands earned a “D” for Climate Change and a “D” for Water Security.

Decathlon, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Foot Locker, Amazon, Lululemon, Canada Goose and Anta Sports were among those receiving “F” grades because they didn’t disclose or provided insufficient information. Under Armour, New Balance, Wolverine Worldwide, Skechers, Caleres, Shoe Carnival, Deckers Outdoor and G-III  Apparel were among those making the list but not receiving grades or listed as N/A (not applicable).

In 2018, companies were requested to do so by over 650 investors with over US$87 trillion in assets, and 115 major purchasing organizations with US$3.3 trillion in purchasing power.

In a statement, Dexter Galvin, global director of corporates and supply chains at CDP, said the list was designed to encourage more businesses to work towards delivering more ambitious sustainability strategies.

“As the recent report from the IPCC showed, the next decade is crucial in our shift to a sustainable economy, and we believe corporates are at the heart of this transition,” he said. “By ranking companies we aim not just to highlight leaders’ best practice, but to inspire all businesses to aim higher and take more action.”

He added that there was compelling evidence that those companies that boasted the strongest environmental performance also tended to perform well financially. “That the STOXX Global Climate Change Leaders Index – which is based on the CDP A List – outperformed the STOXX Global 1800 by 5.4 per cent per annum from December 2011 to July 2018, demonstrates that the leadership on environmental issues shown by the A List goes hand in hand with being a successful and profitable business,” he said.

Tegwen Le Berthe, head of ESG development at CPR Asset Management, said CDP’s data was also being widely used to inform investment decisions.

“The corporate environmental data CDP collects forms the backbone of the responsible investing market – without this data, investors wouldn’t have the information they require to offer ESG products and services,” he said. “At CPR Asset Management, we believe that the integration of ESG data into investment processes generates value in the long term. We need to know how exposed a company is to environmental risks and their long-term strategy for the low-carbon transition, in order to identify future market leaders.”

The report was released on the second day of a Davos Summit where climate and environmental issues are set to play a central role.

The full methodology and criteria for the “Climate Change A List” are available on CDP’s website: https://www.cdp.net/en/guidance/guidance-for-companies under ‘CDP scoring methodologies 2018’.

Image courtesy CDC