Ignitis Group received international recognition for its environmental efforts and related disclosures

A couple of days prior, a globally recognised environmental disclosure organisation CDP has released an assessment of companies’ climate action efforts and related disclosures. An international energy company Ignitis Group was listed among the leading companies. The company had submitted the information about its management of environmental issues and received a score of ‘A-’.

This year Ignitis Group received a higher score compared to last year, when the company received the score of ‘B’ (on a scale from ‘D-’ to ‘A’, where ‘A’ is the top score). According to CDP, only a third of almost 15,000 companies assessed globally improved their score compared to last year.

When completing CDP questionnaires, companies must supplement each answer with accurate information, real-world progress. The score of ‘A-’ means that Ignitis Group understands its impact on the environment through the environmental lens and endeavours to manage it properly. When comparing it to the companies from around the world, the Group takes on the role of leadership and takes concrete actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and its targets are in line with science-based recommendations on actions which should keep global warming below 1.5 °C. 

According to Head of Group Sustainability Valentas Neviera, climate mitigation efforts of companies are important, but just as important are the way the companies are talking about such efforts and how they disclose the relevant information to investors and other stakeholders.

“Our CDP score is the result of the information we submitted on the integration of climate change-related issues into strategic planning, risk assessment, emission reduction targets, planned actions, etc. of the Group companies,” stated V. Neviera.

CDP has three environmental disclosure questionnaires: climate change, forests and water security. Companies are submitting their information to questionnaires voluntarily, which is being used by more than 680 financial institutions, investors, whose total assets reach USD 130 trillion.  

It’s the investors who are requesting to disclose information through CDP. They see the value even if 59% of the companies this year received ‘C’ or ‘D’ scores because it shows that the companies are at least taking the first steps. However, some concerns were also raised because over 29,500 companies that were requested to disclose the information, did not do it. It is a sign that climate issues do not receive enough attention yet.