CDP, formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project, an environmental non-profit and investment research provider, has published a list of over 140 corporates recognised as pioneers for action on climate change, water and deforestation.

The annual rankings score more than 6,800 companies that disclose to CDP on their environmental action. Only the top 2 per cent make it onto the A List. Split across climate change, water security and forests, the A List provides a holistic picture of how the corporate world is addressing environmental issues. Companies at the top of the list include: Apple, Firmenich, Johnson & Johnson, L'Oréal, Mitsubishi Electric, Nestle and Unilever.

ChinaMobile, Danone, Infosys Limited, Klabin and Microsoft made the A list for their action on climate change, while ACCIONA, Gap, Ford and KAO Corporation were included for their water security action, and Beiersdorf, Tetra Pak and UPM-Kymmene were recognised for their efforts to address deforestation.

'A List goes hand in hand with successful and profitable business'

Firmenich, the world’s largest privately-owned fragrance & flavour company, and French cosmetics company L'Oréal, are the only companies to get A across the board for their actions on climate change, deforestation and water security.

Dexter Galvin, global director of corporates and supply chains at CDP, commented: “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. 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 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 a year 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.”