Make GHG reporting mandatory, says business & civil society coalition including SustainAbility to UK government

19 Jan 2011 – Headline

The Climate Change Act requires the UK Government to introduce mandatory greenhouse gas reporting by 6 April 2012, but despite widespread support from industry, civil society and the public no commitment to mandatory reporting has yet been made by the Government.

SustainAbility has therefore signed a letter signifying its support for mandatory reporting of emissions sent by The Co-operative Group and 180 other businesses and civil society groups to the Secretaries of State at DEFRA, DECC and BIS. The coalition includes businesses such as Aviva, AstraZeneca, BAA and Nestlé, NGOs such as WWF, 10:10 and Christian Aid and experts including SustainAbility, The Carbon Disclosure Project and Trucost.

SustainAbility believes reporting is an essential first step to enable reductions in emissions. Without full disclosure of emissions it will be very difficult for the UK to meet its targets under the Climate Change Act, deliver on its international obligations and  move towards decarbonising the economy.

Currently only 54% of UK FTSE 350 companies reported their carbon emissions publicly in each of the last two years according to The Carbon Disclosure Project.

(See further coverage of this on the Guardian Sustainable Business Blog.)