Collaboration between Italian Ministry and CDP leads to greater environmental transparency

• Driven by the request of the Italian government, corporate environmental transparency through non-profit CDP platform increased by 42% last year;
• 40% of Italian companies and 22 Italian local governments now have emissions reduction targets, with fast growth in science-based target setting;
• In 2021, just 6 Italian companies and 2 Italian cities received the best ’A’ score for environmental performance through CDP (formerly Carbon Disclosure Project);
• Non-profit CDP collaborates with the Italian government to increase environmental transparency and measure Italy’s contribution to UNFCCC ‘Global Stocktake’ under the Paris agreement.

 Environmental transparency in Italy by companies grew by 42% and over 20% for cities and regions last year, as the collaboration between CDP and the Italian Ministry of the Ecological Transition continues to increase action towards the Paris agreement’s goals.

The latest report from CDP (formerly Carbon Disclosure Project), Ready, Set, Act analyzes environmental trends among Italian companies, cities and regions and their ambition level on climate, forests and water security topics.

With the Paris agreement ’Rulebook’ concluded at COP26 in Glasgow, attention has now shifted to the ’Global Stocktake’ for COP28 in 2023. The Italian government must show progress towards its climate targets as part of its commitments to the Paris Agreement.

Supported by a request sent by CDP on behalf of the Italian government, the report finds a significant increase of 42% in corporate transparency in 2021. That includes a 55% increase in companies reporting climate data, a 40% increase in forests data, 24% on water security and 22% by cities. Companies representing 74% of Italian market capitalization now share their environmental data.

However, nearly half of companies requested, notably in high impact sectors, are not disclosing any data at all – data that is critical to measure and assess climate and environmental commitments, ambition levels, and progress made against these commitments. Companies receiving an ‘F’ in 2021 include Buzzi Unicem, De’Longhi SpA and Amplifon SpA.

Just 6 Italian companies (Brembo, Enel, Leonardo, Pirelli, Salvatore Ferragamo and Sofidel) and 2 Italian cities (Firenze and Padova) received the best ’A’ score through CDP. The ‘A List’ was celebrated publicly March 9 in CDP’s annual conference, the CDP Europe Awards. Enel CEO Francesco Starace and Florence Mayor Dario Nardella spoke at the event.

About 40% of Italian companies now report an emission reduction target, and there has been fast growth in science-based target setting, particularly in energy-intensive sectors. 11 companies reporting to CDP currently have externally approved science-based targets, including 2 Cementir Holding NV and Enel SpA, the largest utility in Europe, which has increased its ambition to 1.5°C and further committed to achieve net-zero value chain emissions.

The report also finds an increase in cities and regions reporting on their climate impacts to a total of 30, mostly located in the centre and north of Italy. While encouraging, it shows that there is a strong need to increase the availability of public data on cities and regions in the south, most affected by the climate crisis.

Roberto Cingolani, Italy’s Minister for Ecological Transition, said: [i"The next years will be crucial to stay on track to keep the temperature increase within 1,5°. To reach this objective we are called to an epochal change, and the Ministry of Ecological Transition is committed to drive action on the ground among companies, cities and regions, with the aim of facilitating Italy’s transition to a sustainable low-carbon economy. Monitoring and assessment of risks and actions are key elements in ensuring that we will continue to move in the right direction".[/i]

Maxfield Weiss, Executive Director at CDP Europe, said: “I am delighted that CDP’s long-standing collaboration with the Italian government is bearing fruit and mainstreaming environmental transparency by companies and local governments. But transparency only takes us so far. It needs to be complete and full. As this report shows, we need a scaling up of ambition to ensure the Italian government meets its Paris commitments, all actors in the economy align with 1.5°C, and the right adaptation measures are in place to protect vulnerable populations. We have to see even faster adoption of science-based targets by companies and cities, bold adaption plans and greater collaboration”.

CDP will continue to support the Italian Ministry of Ecological Transition to drive action among governmental bodies, cities, companies, and investors on climate, water, forest and biodiversity related issues and ensure that collaboration on these topics happens at all levels.

-ENDS-

The full report, Ready, Set, Act is available on CDP’s website.

About CDP

CDP Europe is a charitable organization registered in Brussels and Berlin and on the EU Transparency Register since 2012. It is part of the CDP Global System, a global non-profit that runs the world’s environmental disclosure system for companies, cities, states and regions. Founded in 2000 and working with more than 590 investors with over $110 trillion in assets, CDP pioneered using capital markets and corporate procurement to motivate companies to disclose their environmental impacts, and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, safeguard water resources and protect forests. Over 14,000 organizations around the world disclosed data through CDP in 2021, including more than 13,000 companies worth over 64% of global market capitalization, and over 1,100 cities, states and regions. Fully TCFD aligned, CDP holds the largest environmental database in the world, and CDP scores are widely used to drive investment and procurement decisions towards a zero carbon, sustainable and resilient economy. CDP is a founding member of the Science Based Targets initiative, We Mean Business Coalition, The Investor Agenda and the Net Zero Asset Managers initiative. Visit cdp.net or follow us @CDP to find out more.