The CPP Investment Board today encouraged Canada’s 200 largest companies to disclose more information on the business risks and opportunities they face as a result of climate change by responding to the Carbon Disclosure Project’s (CDP) questionnaire.

The CPP Investment Board is one of 284 institutional investors representing a total of US$41 trillion in assets under management who are supporting the project. The CDP is releasing the questionnaire today and plans to send it to the world’s largest 2,400 companies (www.cdproject.net). The CPP Investment Board is also a signatory to the CDP and sponsor of the CDP Canada report.

“Improved disclosure on climate related risks and opportunities is critical for long-term investors like us to be able to incorporate the potential investment impact of environmental factors into our investment decisions and investor engagement program,” said Don Raymond, senior vp, public market investments, CPP Investment Board.

“We also believe that enhanced disclosure and responsible corporate behaviour with respect to environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors can generally have a positive influence on long-term performance,” Raymond said.

The CPP Investment Board’s participation in the CDP initiative is aligned with its Policy on Responsible Investing, which consists of a three part program to improve the disclosure of and performance on ESG factors in the companies in which it invests.

The core elements of the policy are first, engagement with those companies through proxy voting, working with investor coalitions and direct contact; second, helping fund research into the long term materiality of ESG factors; and third, integrating ESG factors into the investment process.

Full details of the CPP Investment Board’s approach to responsible investing issues are outlined in its Policy for Responsible Investing available at www.cppib.ca.

More information on the CDP, including previous responses to the CDP survey, can be downloaded at www.cdproject.net.