Institutional Investors Collaborate on a Second Greenhouse Gas
Emissions Questionnaire

November 5, 2003 - Today a group of 87 institutional investors with assets of over $9 trillion under management wrote to the 500 largest quoted companies in the world by market capitalisation, asking for the disclosure of investment-relevant information concerning their greenhouse gas emissions.

This is the second time such a request has been made. The first was sent 31 May 2002, and 245 companies completed the questionnaire, see www.cdproject.net. In 2003 a larger group of investors has collaborated to ask for this information. Corporations that previously provided responses will be invited to report progress. Companies that previously did not respond are requested to do so.

Commenting on the information request, Paul Dickinson, the project coordinator, said:

"There are potential business risks and opportunities related to actions stemming from climate change that have implications for the value of shareholdings in corporations worldwide. Examples of such actions are political and regulatory momentum moving against significant carbon emitters; emissions-sensitive technologies, products and services superseding those existing today; and shifts in consumer sentiment due to a corporation's stance on climate change.

This suggests it is time for shareholders to improve their understanding of climate change risks and opportunities. The data to assess these issues are not always available, sometimes lack comparability or are of poor quality. This exercise is aimed at encouraging the development of a common emissions measurement methodology and to facilitate its integration into general investment analysis. The signatories recognise the pressure companies face from constant demands for information, and have joined in this single call for information to streamline the requests."

The recipient corporations have been asked to respond within four months, and the information received will be compiled into a thematic report by Innovest Strategic Value Advisers, who have been retained to perform the analysis. The report will be distributed to participating shareholding institutions and responding corporations, and made publicly available at www.cdproject.net from May 2004. All submitted data authorised for publication will also be available from the web site.

This initiative has been coordinated by the Carbon Disclosure Project, a special project of the Philanthropic Collaborative of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors in New York.

The group of investors is not a legal entity, and the Carbon Disclosure Project has no authority to make any other statement on behalf of the participants.

Paul Dickinson, Project Coordinator +44 7958 772864

Carbon Disclosure Project
57A Farringdon Road, London EC1M 3JB
Email: info@cdproject.net

Carbon Disclosure Project:
Paul Dickinson (Co-ordinator), Paul Simpson (Project Manager), Jeremy Smith (Director)