Amazon, ExxonMobil called out over climate transparency

[NEW YORK] Amazon.com, ExxonMobil and Volvo are among more than 700 companies being targeted in a campaign backed by a large group of investors advocating for greater transparency when it comes to environmental impact.

HSBC Global Asset Management, Investec Asset Management and close to 85 other investors representing a combined US$10 trillion in assets are asking companies to comply with the reporting process managed by CDP, a British nonprofit research group that solicits and scores corporate environmental disclosures.

Investors and interested observers need "consistent, comparable information collected in one place so that they can benchmark performance and use the data to inform their decisions," said Emily Kreps, global director of investor initiatives at CDP. HSBC and Investec didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

The effort targets companies the group says have failed to disclose such information for years at a time. Fossil fuel giant ExxonMobil has faced numerous investigations and lawsuits over its role in the global climate crisis, while more than 7,600 Amazon employees recently backed a shareholder measure to push the company into developing an aggressive climate-fighting stance. (The effort failed. The company said it will disclose its carbon footprint later this year.)

Investors participating in the CDP initiative "are active managers or asset owners who have a sophisticated understanding of the [environment, social, and governance] disclosure they need from companies for their investment processes," Ms Kreps said.

"We would expect to work with more investors on this in the future, especially as demand for corporate environmental data continues to rise."

Amazon, Exxon and Volvo didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.

BLOOMBERG