BT are 'Leaders of Pack' With Standout Sustainability Strategy - Seite 2

However, the report states that it is disappointing that more companies are not following the lead of the top performers, with 57 companies in the FTSE 100 scoring under 50%.

Mark Chadwick, Chief Executive of Carbon Clear, commented: "The hard work and dedication companies such as BT, M&S and Unilever have towards developing a more sustainable business model is fantastic. These 'leaders of the pack' are setting the agenda for business sustainability proving that such an approach is aligned to long-term commercial value."

"But the gap between those pushing the boundaries of best practice and those simply complying with legislation remains as large as ever. Given the risks of ignoring climate change - whether it's losing business to a competitor who mirrors customer values in sustainability, or infrastructure being disrupted due to severe weather - this doesn't make sense."

"This is especially the case when its often simple steps that see the quickest returns, whilst paving the way for a longer term strategy."  

Gudrun Cartwright, Environment Director at Business in the Community, a charity which works with businesses to create a fairer society and a more sustainable future, said:

"Business must be at the centre of reducing carbon emissions if our economy is to achieve the kind of smart growth needed to ensure long term prosperity for business and society."

"The global agreement reached at COP21 Paris in 2015 raised the bar for climate action. As we approach the 1^st anniversary of the historic agreement we urge businesses from the FTSE 100, and indeed beyond, to make sustainability a central part of their strategy. We hope this report will both inspire businesses of all sizes to look at how they can set ambitious sustainability targets and challenge businesses to understand their potential to do more."

For the first time this year, Carbon Clear also applied the scoring to the Spanish IBEX 35 index. The analysis provides a comparison of the sustainability performance of similar companies, in the UK and Spain including Telefonica with BT and Centrica with Iberdrola.

Sustainability Performance of the IBEX 35 is available here - info.carbon-clear.com/hubfs/Reports/Sustainability_Reporting_Performance_of_the_IBEX_35.pdf

Results

The Top 10 FTSE 100 performers are: BT Group; Marks & Spencer Group plc; Unilever; Coca-Cola HBC; Kingfisher; Sky; Aviva; Mondi; RELX Group; Centrica; Diageo; Reckitt Benckiser Group.^[1]