Foreword
Paul Dickinson Executive Chairman, CDP
The Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP)—together with our partner C40—is proud to bring to publication this landmark report on greenhouse gas measurement, management, and adaptation to climate change in the world’s largest cities. This report is not just another assessment of climate change and urban areas. Rather, it is unique—all of the data in these pages is self-reported by city governments. Forty-two C40 cities and six voluntary cities around the world have taken the time to measure dozens of climate change related-metrics and report them to the world.
Why is self-reported data important? For the last ten years, our not-for-profit organization, CDP, has provided a reporting platform for the world’s largest companies. These companies measure, assess, and analyze their climate change-related data every year in preparation for their annual report to CDP. Last year, 410 of the world’s largest 500 companies reported to CDP. Many of these companies have told CDP that this process has helped them to better understand their businesses. Because they measure, they are able to manage. And management of carbon and other climate change-related metrics has led to benefits for many companies. In the words of Andy Green, CEO of Logica, “We have used CDP as the main tool to drive carbon reporting right across our organization. It has been really fantastic for us. We’ve discovered cost savings, and we have probably saved 10 million pounds in various ways.”
The connection between measurement and management is no less clear for city governments. As concentrations of people, businesses, and wealth, cities are both large emitters of greenhouse gas emissions and highly vulnerable to the potential physical effects of climate change. With the right processes in place, local governments, just like corporations, can gain strategic insight into their operations and reduce their exposure to climate change through assessment of climate risk. Through public disclosure, cities share their methodologies and insights as they create transparent, climate-safe places in which to live and work.
Our partner in this first year, the C40, has done as much as any organization to highlight the importance of city governments in the fight against climate change and empower them to act. Under the leadership of Mayor Bloomberg, the C40 provides an inspiring leadership example for urban areas around the world. We are also indebted to our lead sponsors, Autodesk and Jones Lang LaSalle, for their expertise and guidance over the last year.
We at CDP are delighted to welcome C40 cities to the world’s largest climate change reporting platform.
3 © 2011 Carbon Disclosure Project
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