Revealed: Britain leads the way on net zero but transparency concerns remain
UK business and investors are leading by example when it comes to net zero, with the UK’s top five largest companies securing a far higher ESG score compared to those elsewhere around the world.
While US companies are benefiting from the biggest profit boosts, new analysis by S&P Global shows that Britain's biggest companies are actually outperforming the rest on the global stage when it comes to ESG implementation.
In terms of market cap, the world’s five biggest businesses are currently Apple (US), Microsoft (US), Saudi Aramco (Saudi Arabia), Alphabet (US) and Amazon (US).
Of these five, the best ESG score is awarded to Microsoft at 56/100. The lowest score goes to Amazon at 22/100, while all five average a score of 37.4/100, S&P said in its new report.
Unilever, AstraZeneca and Shell
Zooming in on the five biggest UK companies - Shell, AstraZeneca, Linde, HSBC, and Unilever - and the S&P Global researchers concluded that they are securing much more impressive scores than their US peers, averaging 69.4/100.
Both Linde and Unilever score 81/100 and AstraZeneca scores 80/100. HSBC comes in at 62/100 while Shell has the lowest score at 43/100.
While Shell’s score the lowest of these top five UK giants, the oil and gas giant is still doing far better with ESG than its industry peer, Saudi Aramco (26/100), as well as Amazon (22/100), a company that often sells itself as one of the most forward-looking organisations in the world.
UK on the world stage
Discussing the findings with Net Zero Investor, Lauren Wilson-Smith, the CEO and Founder of ID Crypt Global, said this morning that “it is great to see UK businesses performing well on the world stage.”
However, Wilson-Smith stressed “further
work” is needed to ensure that net zero practices “are more widely adopted and
for the right reasons.”
“Net zero is about ensuring that the world’s business and corporate pursuits do not continue to cause irrevocable damage to the planet and its people."
“Unfortunately, ESG and net zero are primarily being used to identify the risks and opportunities that will affect a business and its long-term sustainability and success, while also increasing profits," Wilson-Smith added.
"It’s also fair to say that the current methods of assessing an organisation's net zero capabilities are inefficient and costly, to say the least."
"If we really want to drive ESG forward we need to make the process as straightforward and transparent as possible," she concluded.
