GLOBAL CLIMATE DEBATE

Report: Corporate Environmental Damage Tops $2 Trillion

A new report from the United Nations expected out this spring has found that the world's leading companies cause more than $2 trillion per year in environmental damage.

The report is being compiled by the British environmental consulting firm Truscot, which looked at 3,000 companies, including every member of the Standard and Poor's 500 largest publicly traded U.S. companies.

The eight-year study determines the effects businesses have on the environment, such as greenhouse gas emissions, local pollutions, particulate emissions, and use of timber and water.

The report says utility, mining, forestry, and chemical companies are the biggest offenders.  It indicates that the UN may soon try to put a price on environmental resources.

Truscot CEO Richard Mattison says it was commissioned to educate eco-minded investors, so they can lobby companies to reduce their environmental impact before governments impose taxes or regulations.

“One of the things investors can do is engage with companies in a collaborative way,” he told the New York Times.

Source: The Guardian

Source: New York Times