Four Irish companies have been awarded the top "A" rating for setting externally verified climate emissions targets and disclosing their environmental performance, a new report from CDP Ireland Network has found.
CRH, Kingspan, Johnson Controls International and Trane Technologies are among just 362 companies worldwide to have received the top grade.
A further 14 Irish companies received an A- score, today's report shows, including Accenture, AIB, Smurfit Kappa, Ryanair, Hibernia REG, ESB, Gas Networks Ireland, Cairn Homes and Ardagh Metal Packaging.
The other companies are Eaton Corporation, Ecocem, Experian, John Sisk & Son and Version 1 Software
The total of 18 Irish companies rated at A- or higher is the highest level for the country recorded to date.
An A or A- grade was only awarded to 1.5% of the 23,000 companies that reported to CDP worldwide in 2023 and just two Irish companies got an A rating in 2022 while 11 received A- scores.
CDP is a global non-profit organisation that runs the world's environmental disclosure system for companies, cities, states and regions.
Founded in 2000, it measures corporate performance on climate change on behalf of over 740 financial institutions with over $136 trillion in assets. Over 23,000 firms disclosed environmental data through CDP in 2023, an increase of 24% on 2022.
The CDP Ireland Network represents the CDP's interests in Ireland and its Climate Change Report 2023 shows a total of 468 companies that are either headquartered or operating in Ireland reported their performance here last year, an increase of 22% on the figure of 384 in 2022.
A total of 112 Irish-owned or registered companies reported as part of this group, up 29% on the 87 that reported in 2022.
Hostelworld, Kilsaran, Fineos, Linesight, Mason Hayes Curran and Walls Construction were among the 24 new companies that started reporting this year.
Today's report shows Irish companies performed well compared to other regions with 68% of the 112 achieving a B- or higher in 2023, compared to 63% globally, although this figure was behind the 72% recorded for Europe as a whole.
2023 also recorded an increase in the number of companies setting a Science Based Target (SBT), with a total of 53 of the group of 112 Irish companies having an approved SBT, up from 33 in 2022.
An additional 35 companies have committed to setting an SBT, an increase of 21 in 2022.
Brian O'Kennedy, Executive Director of the CDP Ireland Network, said that disclosure is a critical tool for achieving net-zero targets, avoiding greenwashing and tracking progress.
"Companies scoring A grades are those with the most accurate picture of their environmental impacts and they are the best equipped to take climate and nature-positive actions to mitigate them," Mr O'Kennedy said.
"It is great to see four Irish companies getting the highest A score and a record 18 scoring at least an A-, but the fact remains that companies providing the highest quality environmental data remain a small minority," he stated.
"Disclosure is increasing, but we really need more companies to start reporting at the level needed for it to be effective," he added.
