CDP wins secure Ecometrica's position for emissions reporting

Edinburgh/London, 9 November 2017: Sustainability software and satellite data company Ecometrica has cemented its position as the go-to firm for greenhouse gas and environmental impact reporting after helping two more UK listed firms to recognition by CDP. For the third year in a row, Ecometrica’s clients were winners at the annual CDP awards.

The accolades awarded to Ocado and Compass Group come as a growing number of businesses step up their focus on combating climate change, by expanding the scope of their sustainability reporting and committing to low-carbon operational targets.

Online grocer Ocado became the third Ecometrica client in three years to win the prestigious award for ‘Climate Change Best First Time Responder’. The award by non-profit global group CDP, reflects the highest score achieved by an initial response in disclosing its impact on climate change emissions data, policy, and processes. Ecometrica clients Direct Line and Indivior won in the same category in 2015 and 2016 respectively.

Ecometrica Platform, a web-based accounting and sustainability management solution, combines earth observation data from satellites with local information and business intelligence, to bring clarity to environmental and natural resource challenges facing corporates and governments alike.

Suzanne Westlake, Head of Corporate Responsibility & Corporate Affairs at Ocado, said: "As a rapidly growing business reporting to the CDP for the first time presented some challenges. With a lot of hard work in the CR team, help from around the business and invaluable assistance from Ecometrica, we're delighted that our first reporting submission to CDP has been recognised as a success."

Compass Group, the contract caterer, achieved CDP success by winning the 'Forest Soy Most Improved' category. Ecometrica is a CDP Gold Partner in Water and Forests, as well as Climate Change, and assisted a number of other listed companies with their CDP submissions.

Adam Leaver, Head of Client Services at Ecometrica, said: “It's great to see our clients' hard work and commitment to reporting emissions and wider environmental impacts recognised. Not only has Ocado met its mandatory carbon reporting standards, it has also had considerable success in tracking and reducing food waste within its operations. The insight provided by the data is enabling our clients to track a range of environmental impacts and social initiatives.

“Compass Group's win is also a great achievement for the company and reflects the need for corporations not just to reduce carbon emissions, but also to take a responsible and sustainable approach to their impact on resources, such as forests and water around the world.

“Ecometrica clients have won CDP awards in each of the last three years and this underscores the importance of setting targets and understanding environmental impacts across the whole value chain, while reporting the meaningful improvements that are being achieved.”

The CDP awards coincide with the organisation’s annual report ‘Tracking Corporate Action on Climate Change’. CDP’s global analysis shows that business is picking up the pace on climate action. Spurred by the Paris Agreement, more leading companies are embedding low-carbon goals into their long-term future business plans.

Crucially, a growing number of leading companies now base their carbon reduction targets on the scientific consensus of what needs to be done in order to keep climate change under control – considered to be a global temperature rise of less than 2°C by 2050.

Adam Leaver added: “A year of extreme weather and the recent revelations that carbon levels in the atmosphere are at record highs show how important it is that companies aspire to set science based climate change targets. It is very welcome that more and more corporations are stepping up to the challenge.

“Companies need ever more advanced tools because expectations are growing and carbon reporting continues to get more sophisticated as business looks to respond to the external pressure dictated by a changing climate as well as their own internal targets. We stand ready to help with these advanced reporting and response requirements.”

Ecometrica recently launched a new application, Business Intelligence, an advanced enterprise data interrogation and visualization system, which allows organisations to better manage their carbon emissions by analysing inefficiencies and identifying trends, anomalies and outliers.