Voluntary Environmental Disclosure: A study of the Carbon Disclosure Project

Abstract: Events, such as increased risks of drought and flooding, that scientist have associated with climate change can have serious impacts on the physical environment, society, and the economy. In the past companies, despite their significant contribution to greenhouse gas emissions were largely excluded in the search for solutions. However, increasing awareness among politicians and civil society has resulted in a call for greater responsibility of economic actors in mitigating climate change. In addition to mandatory measures (e.g. regulations) voluntary environmental programmes (VEP) have been developed, including the voluntary disclosure of environmental data. VEPs are often classified as so-called green clubs which encourage members to engage in progressive environmental actions that go beyond the regulatory status quo, in return for which they benefit from affiliation with the club’s positive brand image and reputation. This study finds that the CDP qualifies as a green club. This thesis aims to contribute to the understanding of why companies, in particular in the clean technology sector, engage in voluntary environmental disclosure and how they can benefit from this, using the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), an independent non-profit organisation that gathers information on greenhouse gas emissions of companies on behalf of investors, as an example. From the literature review and interviews with eleven reference companies participating in the CDP a set of internal and external drivers for engaging in VED has been derived. Furthermore, a list of benefits, categorised according to financial, legal, competitive, and strategic aspects, has been compiled. An in-depth case study of The Company, a Swedish cleantech corporation interested in reporting to the CDP, allowed studying the information needs the CDP puts on respondents as well as potential differences concerning costs and benefits of participation compared to non-cleantech businesses due to the environmentally friendly nature of their products.