74% of companies in Spain have not yet started their process of decarbonization or it is in an incipient phase, which places the country three points below the global average, in which 77% are still in this situation. This is one of the conclusions of the Carbon Action Report 2023, a report based on the analysis of 24.500 companies around the world carried out by EcoVadis, provider of business sustainability ratings.
At the European level, Spain is moving in the same direction as the rest of its neighboring countries. Italy is the one that registers one of the worst scores, since only 19% of its companies are committed to decarbonizing their activity, while this figure rises to 26% in the case of Spain. On the other hand, France achieves a slightly higher score, with 28% of companies joining the decarbonization process. For its part, Germany shares a position with Spain, although the German country has 5% fewer companies that have not even begun their decarbonization process.
The EcoVadis report also compares the results obtained by companies between their first evaluation and the second. In this sense, Spain is once again above the global average. When Spanish companies first contacted the evaluation of their carbon activity, 73% were in the initial phase (75% worldwide). However, after re-evaluation, this percentage is reduced to 56% (60% globally). “The commitment of companies to decarbonization begins by analyzing their emissions. From there, it is possible to identify specific objectives and improvement strategies to achieve real results,” he says. Giulia Borsa, Regional Team Leader and Senior ESG Executive at EcoVadis.
Tackling Scope 3 carbon emissions: a global challenge
Scope 3 refers to a company's indirect emissions generated by the activity of its partners in the value chain. To generate a positive impact in this sense, companies have to communicate and work with each other to achieve results. This is posing a global challenge, since it is the indicator analyzed by EcoVadis with the worst results. In the case of Spain, only 3% of Spanish companies commit their suppliers to reducing carbon emissions, which places the country above Italy (2%), but below the global average or France. and Germany (6%).
“To continue reducing the carbon impact, it is essential that companies involve their supply chain partners, since these Scope 3 emissions can account for up to 90% of the pollution generated in total,” comments Giulia Borsa from EcoVadis. . “Our data shows that the path to decarbonization is advancing, but it is doing so at a slower pace than necessary if we want to limit global warming to 1,5 degrees and comply with the Paris Agreement from the business sector.”
