The Challenge
As the world rallies around the topics of climate change and climate action, frameworks that shape ESG reporting and disclosure continue to evolve. Investors, indices, and governing bodies are constantly raising the bar, seeking increased accountability and transparency from global companies in every sector.
Our client is a multinational communications company that focuses on creativity to build a better, more sustainable future. As a dedicated member of the RE100, UN Global Compact, and World Economic Forum—among other initiatives—the company is driven by an internal need to stay true to its transformative values, as well as an external commitment to serve its customers in a way that works toward a better future for all.
The company has been reporting to global disclosure non-profit CDP for more than a decade. Since the early 2010s, it has made major improvements to its disclosure program and significantly improved overall performance. By 2020, the company’s ESG team felt that its program had reached a stage at which it would benefit greatly from engaging a third party to maximize performance.
Our Solution
Ensuring pinpoint accuracy in reporting
To support our client’s response to CDP’s 2021 questionnaire, the ADEC ESG team conducted a Scoring Assessment for the company’s Climate Change disclosure. Scoring Assessments include a full evaluation of the company’s draft response and specific suggestions on how to improve performance, such as pointing out key focus areas, tactical question-specific advice, and ensuring full completion. Scoring Assessments can also serve as an ESG roadmap for clients, providing their teams with ideas on steps they can take to improve ESG programs and initiatives in the short- and long-term.
In 2021, our client was already making all the right moves. The company had started making marked improvements to its governance in 2020, including increased transparency on governance topics and joining the Science Based Targets initiative. The company also has ambitious near- and long-term net-zero targets in place and reports to additional ESG frameworks outside of CDP. Our team worked with the company’s sustainability team to figure out how to best leverage these major milestones on their CDP disclosure, ensuring the disclosure accurately reflected our client’s meaningful action and progress towards established targets.
Flexible, tailored ESG services
Even within shared industries, geographies, and markets, every organization operates within a unique company culture, set of values, and resources that drive equally unique ESG programs and initiatives.
Every Scoring Assessment our team creates is custom-made for each client. We worked with our client to ensure that their Climate Change response provided company-specific risk and opportunity details, clear rationale for every question, and case studies for successful initiatives where they were needed. Through our flexible on-demand time service, we also supported the team in prioritizing certain aspects of the questionnaire, enabling them to focus on questions that would make the greatest impact on their performance. For its 2021 disclosure, our client reached the Leadership performance level, the highest scoring level within CDP’s methodology.
The Client Sustainability Journey
Our client is committed to growing within the ESG space, with a focus on the customers and communities it serves. As a partner on the company’s Sustainability Journey, we’re inspired by its investment in education on ESG topics and continued interest in growing its ESG programs to meet its ambitious goals. We’re excited to expand our work with them and continue together toward cultivating a better future for all.
Results and Deliverables
- Scoring Assessment for 2021 CDP Climate Change disclosure
- Improved score of Leadership A- for 2021 CDP Climate Change disclosure
