Greenhouse Gas Emissions Rankings—Definitions
Sample: 200 randomly selected S&P 500 companiesData: From voluntary GHG reports and mandatory EPA reports.
Company Emissions Ranking
Rank. The company’s rank among the companies listed. That rank is based on Scope 1+2. Companies that did not report their emissions are ranked last.
Scope 1+2. The total of scope 1 and scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions as voluntarily reported by the company. Emissions are in metric tons of CO2 equivalents (CO2-e).
The appropriate ranking for this company may be lower than the ranking shown because the company excluded some emissions from its report.
No report. The company did not publicly report the amount of its scope 1 and scope 2 emissions.
No. The company did not report that it omitted emissions from its report.
Assurances. Assurance is a process by which an independent professional evaluates nonfinancial information such as greenhouse gas emissions against the criteria to which it was compiled and provides its conclusions in writing.
Scope 1+2. The total of scope 1 and scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions as voluntarily reported by the company. Emissions are in metric tons of CO2 equivalents (CO2-e).
No report. The company did not publicly report the amount of its scope 1 and scope 2 emissions.
Exclusions. An exclusion occurred if the company (1) reported scope 1 and scope 2 emissions, (2) reported omitting one or more categories of those emissions from its reported measurements, and (3) did not report that the categories were de minimis. The appropriate ranking for this company may be lower than the ranking shown because the company excluded some emissions from its report.No report. The company did not publicly report the amount of its scope 1 and scope 2 emissions.
No. The company did not report that it omitted emissions from its report.
high. The assuror obtained sufficient appropriate evidence to conclude that the client’s report conforms in all material respects with identified suitable criteria. (SAE 100 Framework)
moderate. The assuror obtained appropriate evidence to be satisfied that the client’s report is plausible in the circumstances. (SAE 100 Framework)
limited. Assurance that, after review, nothing has come to the assuror’s attention that the client’s report is materially misstated. (ISAE 3000 Framework)
reasonable. The assuror has investigated sufficiently that the risk of an inappropriate conclusion is reasonable. (ISAE 3000 Framework)
no assurances. The company did not publicly report obtaining assurances regarding its corporate social responsibility or greenhouse gas reporting.
moderate. The assuror obtained appropriate evidence to be satisfied that the client’s report is plausible in the circumstances. (SAE 100 Framework)
limited. Assurance that, after review, nothing has come to the assuror’s attention that the client’s report is materially misstated. (ISAE 3000 Framework)
reasonable. The assuror has investigated sufficiently that the risk of an inappropriate conclusion is reasonable. (ISAE 3000 Framework)
no assurances. The company did not publicly report obtaining assurances regarding its corporate social responsibility or greenhouse gas reporting.
Intensity Ranking. The “intensity” of GHG emissions is their amount divided by some measure of the company’s production. Here, the measure of production is the company’s revenues.
Rank. The company’s rank based on Scope 1+2/Revenues. The company with the lowest ratio of emissions to revenues is ranked “1.”
Revenues. The amount of the companies’ 2020 revenues in millions of dollars.
Scope 1+2/Revenues. The total of scope 1 and scope 2 emissions reported by the company divided by the revenues reported by the company.
Revenues. The amount of the companies’ 2020 revenues in millions of dollars.
Scope 1+2/Revenues. The total of scope 1 and scope 2 emissions reported by the company divided by the revenues reported by the company.
In-industry Ranking. A ranking of companies against other companies in the same industry. The ranking here is based on total scope 1 and scope 2 emissions reported.
Industry. The debtor’s primary industry. The industry categories are those defined by the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB).
Rank. The company’s rank based on Scope 1+2 emissions, among the companies in the same industry. The company with the lowest ratio of emissions to revenues is ranked “1.”
EPA Emissions Ranking. EPA emissions rankings are based on raw data mandatorily submitted by major emitting facilities to the EPA.Rank. The company’s rank based on Scope 1+2 emissions, among the companies in the same industry. The company with the lowest ratio of emissions to revenues is ranked “1.”
Rank. The company’s rank based on EPA Scope 1 emissions. We ranked all 70 companies with zero EPA Scope 1 emissions as tied for first.
Scope 1. Direct emissions reported by facilities to the EPA and for which the company was listed as the “parent company.” Only 132 of the S&P 500 companies were listed as parent companies. The EPA data did not link the remaining 368 companies to any emissions. We recorded the absence of such a link as zero EPA Scope 1 emissions. That is, we assumed that facilities complied with the law in reporting their emissions and the identities of their parent companies.
Rank by ratio. The company’s rank based on its ratio of EPA Scope 1 emissions to revenues (Scope 1/Revenues). We ranked all 70 companies with zero emissions as tied for first.
Scope 1/Revenues. The total of scope 1 emissions reported to the EPA by emitting facilities for which the company was listed as a parent company, divided by the company’s revenues.
Scope 1. Direct emissions reported by facilities to the EPA and for which the company was listed as the “parent company.” Only 132 of the S&P 500 companies were listed as parent companies. The EPA data did not link the remaining 368 companies to any emissions. We recorded the absence of such a link as zero EPA Scope 1 emissions. That is, we assumed that facilities complied with the law in reporting their emissions and the identities of their parent companies.
Rank by ratio. The company’s rank based on its ratio of EPA Scope 1 emissions to revenues (Scope 1/Revenues). We ranked all 70 companies with zero emissions as tied for first.
Scope 1/Revenues. The total of scope 1 emissions reported to the EPA by emitting facilities for which the company was listed as a parent company, divided by the company’s revenues.
Transparency—Definitions
Sample: 200 randomly selected S&P 500 companiesData: From voluntary GHG reports and mandatory EPA reports.
GHG Information Reported
Scope 1+2 emissions. “yes” if the company reported scope 1 and scope 2 emissions, “no” if the company did not. We added “exclusions” to the “yes” entries if the company reported omitting one or more categories of those emissions from its reported measurements and did not report that the omissions were de minimis.
Scope 3 emissions. “yes” if the company reported at least one category of Scope 3 emissions, “no” if the company did not.
Biogenic emissions. “yes” if the company reported a number for its biogenic emissions, “no” if the company did not.
Firm boundary. The method used by the company to determine whether emissions are inside the firm and reportable or outside the firm and not reportable. These methods are defined in the GHG Protocol.
Equity share. A company accounts for GHG emissions from operations according to its share of equity in the operations. The economic substance of the relationship the company has with the operations always overrides the legal ownership form to ensure that equity share reflects the percentage of economic interest Financial control. The control is financial if the company is able to direct the financial and operating policies of the emitter with a view to gaining economic benefits from its activities.
Operational control. The control is operational if the company or one of its subsidiaries has the full authority to introduce and implement its operating policies at the emitter.
Other boundary. Other boundaries adopted by the reporting companies.
No GHG Report. The company did not issue a GHG Report for 2020.
No boundary data. The company issued a GHG Report for 2020, but the report did not identify the boundary employed.
GWP assessment. A Global Warming Potential (GWP) assessment is a determination by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) or some other authority of the ratios that companies should use in converting emissions of greenhouse gases other than CO2 to CO2 equivalents (CO2-e). The IPCC has made five assessments over time and the EPA has made its own assessments.
Scope 3 emissions. “yes” if the company reported at least one category of Scope 3 emissions, “no” if the company did not.
Biogenic emissions. “yes” if the company reported a number for its biogenic emissions, “no” if the company did not.
Firm boundary. The method used by the company to determine whether emissions are inside the firm and reportable or outside the firm and not reportable. These methods are defined in the GHG Protocol.
Equity share. A company accounts for GHG emissions from operations according to its share of equity in the operations. The economic substance of the relationship the company has with the operations always overrides the legal ownership form to ensure that equity share reflects the percentage of economic interest Financial control. The control is financial if the company is able to direct the financial and operating policies of the emitter with a view to gaining economic benefits from its activities.
Operational control. The control is operational if the company or one of its subsidiaries has the full authority to introduce and implement its operating policies at the emitter.
Other boundary. Other boundaries adopted by the reporting companies.
No GHG Report. The company did not issue a GHG Report for 2020.
No boundary data. The company issued a GHG Report for 2020, but the report did not identify the boundary employed.
GWP assessment. A Global Warming Potential (GWP) assessment is a determination by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) or some other authority of the ratios that companies should use in converting emissions of greenhouse gases other than CO2 to CO2 equivalents (CO2-e). The IPCC has made five assessments over time and the EPA has made its own assessments.
Data Comparability
10-K, CSR & GHG are calendar year. Whether the company reports financial, CSR, and GHG data on a calendar year basis. This field is “yes” if all three reports are on a calendar year; “no” if any of the three reports is no on a calendar year. Reports are “calendar year” if they cover the period from the beginning of January to the end of December 2020. Reports are calendar year if the covered period started before January 15 and ended after December 15. Calendar year reports are most comparable to those of other companies because most companies report on a calendar year.
Days to GHG release. The number of days from the end of the period covered by the company’s greenhouse gas report until the greenhouse gas report was made public.
Days to GHG release. The number of days from the end of the period covered by the company’s greenhouse gas report until the greenhouse gas report was made public.
GHG (Greenhouse Gas) Report. “yes” means the company made public a GHG Report for the year 2020, “no” means it did not. We define a GHG report as a document or a website that reports scope 1 and scope 2 GHG emissions, even if they are undifferentiated. “download” is a permalink to the company’s 2020 GHG Report (the company’s copy).
The Stakeholder Takeover Project maintains a second copy (the project’s copy) on which we have highlighted the data we extracted. The project copies will be posted on a separate page of this website.