Only 9% of the Top Oil and Gas Companies Report Scope 3 Emissions from their Investments, Leading to Discrepancies in Portfolio Carbon Footprinting

New research from Clarity AI quantifies the impact of missing emissions in investment portfolio analysis

New York City– July 10, 2024 – Clarity AI, the leading global sustainability tech platform, today released its report The Missing GHG Emissions: How Satellite Data Can Quantify the Real Climate Risk of Oil & Gas Companies. Analyzing the largest 20 companies in the oil and gas industry by market capitalization. The report examines and quantifies GHG emissions from all physical assets that these companies own, including their minority investments, as well as key reporting and disclosure trends, leveraging data from Climate TRACE, a global non-profit coalition to independently track GHG emissions globally.

“While reporting and disclosure remain a foremost priority for organizations throughout the business world, data quality, transparency, and completeness continue to be a noticeable problem area for businesses and regulators alike,” said Patricia Pina, Head of Product Research and Innovation at Clarity AI. “This is particularly true within the oil and gas industry as it relates to Scope 3 emissions, whereby reporting and data gaps lead to chronic underreporting of portfolio carbon footprints and provide a distorted view of how companies compare on carbon intensity.”

Key findings include:

Less than 10% of companies report Scope 3 investment emissions data

While all publicly traded oil and gas companies listed in the MSCI All Country World Index (ACWI) report their Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions, only 9% of these companies report Scope 3 emissions from their investments, according to Clarity AI’s analysis based on 2023 CDP questionnaire. The study found the same pattern among the top 20 companies in the industry, with only one currently reporting emissions from assets the company owns an interest in but which it does not control.

Accounting for “missing emissions” of investments causes a significant carbon footprint rise

Per the study, if these “missing investment emissions” are accounted for, a portfolio consisting of investments in these top 20 oil and gas companies would have a 24% higher carbon footprint than if these emissions are not accounted for – a significant discrepancy in overall carbon impact.

Investment emissions reporting reorders carbon footprint leader board of top 20

According to the study, accounting for the investment emissions also has a significant impact on how these top 20 companies are ranked according to their GHG emissions intensity. For example, when accounting for these investment emissions, seven out of 20 companies would fall in the rankings versus if they were not accounting for these emissions – with one company falling as many as six places from the ninth spot to 15th.

“The impacts of not reporting investment Scope 3 data are incredibly stark and underline the importance of having a comprehensive and transparent view of an organization’s emissions footprint,” said Patrica Pina of Clarity AI.

For more information on Clarity AI and to download the full The Missing GHG Emissions report please visit: Clarity AI

About Clarity AI

Clarity AI is the leading sustainability tech company, leveraging advanced technology and AI to provide data-driven environmental and social insights to investors, corporates, governments, and consumers. AI has been at the core of Clarity AI’s offering from the start, supporting a fully flexible set of data solutions, insights, analytics capabilities, and tools used for portfolio management, corporate research and engagement, benchmarking, regulatory reporting, online banking, and e-commerce.

Within the investment sector, Clarity AI serves a direct network of clients managing over $60 trillion in assets and includes firms like Invesco, Nordea, Lazard Asset Management, and Santander. Our strategic partnerships with financial institutions such as BlackRock, the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG), BNP Paribas, Caceis, or SimCorp, allow thousands of users to access Clarity AI advanced data analytics capabilities through their usual investment platforms, ensuring a seamless workflow experience. Additionally, our partnerships with platforms like Diligent, boasting one million users, or Klarna, currently reaching over 150 million online buyers, benefit corporates and consumers alike. Clarity AI has offices in North America, Europe, and the Middle East. For more information visit www.clarity.ai

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