Research published in the journal Nature Communications
found inconsistencies in the way companies declare their carbon footprint, a
measure that is increasingly considered important for investors.
The study, conducted by researchers at the Technical
University of Munich, examined so-called scope 3 emissions that account for a
large share of corporate carbon footprints, such as business travel, employee
commuting and how companies' products are used.
Focusing on 56 companies in the tech industry, they found
that on average these failed to disclose about half of their emissions.
Christian Stoll, one of the report's authors, said some
companies — such as Google's parent Alphabet — were found to have been
consistent in how they reported their carbon footprint, but excluded some
emissions that should have been counted.
Others, such as IBM, had reported their carbon footprint
differently depending on the audience and excluded emissions that should have
been included.
Neither Google nor IBM immediately responded to requests for
comment.
The authors suggested ways in which companies can improve
their emissions reporting.
Laura Draucker, senior manager of corporate greenhouse gas
emissions at nonprofit business research firm Ceres, said she agreed with the
Nature paper's conclusion that companies' emissions disclosure needs to
improve.
“However, we cannot wait for perfect data,” said Draucker,
who wasn't involved in the study. “Companies can use estimates and screening
tools to identify hot spots for climate risk along their value chain, and they
can set goals and take actions now to meet those goals — while at the same
time, working to improve data collection and quality.”
Ceres' own research showed many of the largest US companies
lack ambitious climate goals, she added.
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