Marui Group ranks once again in Climate Change A-List

For the second year in a row, the CDP has ranked Japan’s Marui Group in its A list of world companies for its action on climate change. The consecutive top ranking is a first for a Japanese retailing company.

Formerly known as the Carbon Disclosure Project, the CDP is an international, not-for-profit organization that runs a global environmental disclosure system. It uses that to help companies and cities measure and manage their risks on climate change, water security or deforestation.

The Marui Group is one of 179 companies that made the A list for 2019, out of more than 8,400 firms that reported to CDP.

Taking key steps to tackle climate change

Initiatives that were key to Marui’s high ranking were its involvement in the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) and in the Science Based Targets (SBT) initiative.

The TCFD was set up by the Financial Stability Board as a set of recommendations for voluntary disclosure of climate-related financial risks in mainstream filings. The SBT initiative is a collaboration between CDP, the United Nations Global Compact, World Resources Institute and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). It encourages corporations to play a key role in reducing global greenhouse gas emissions by having science-based target setting become standard business practice by 2020.

Among the Marui Group’s specific environmental aims is to shift entirely to renewable energy by 2030. Around 80% of the retailing group’s carbon dioxide emissions come from electricity use.

Using transparency as guide for climate action

The CDP’s evaluations encourage corporate transparency. As investors and stakeholders become more concerned about the potential environmental risks to companies’ profits, the program helps to incentivize and guide environmental action, not just assess it.

In a positive sign, the number of companies reporting to CDP in 2019 jumped 20% from the previous year. Those firms represent more than 50% of global market capitalization, CDP says.

While CDP’s activities are particularly aimed at institutional investors, individuals can make use of their work, too. You can search its A List online for companies you are considering investing in, or buying from.

It is not surprising that in a capitalist society, financial accountability looks like being the key instrument to getting real strides made to protect the Earth. As consumers and investors, we need to make sure we keep pushing companies for more healthy competition to reduce their footprints.