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Promises, Pathways and Performance: Climate change disclosure in the ASX200: 2023

August 10, 2023

The majority of the ASX200 is ready for mandatory climate reporting, with nearly 70% now reporting against the TCFD. 80% of market capitalisation is covered by net zero commitments, but detail, depth, comparability and credibility gaps remain.

Key findings:

  • TCFD reporting is at a record high, with nearly 70% of the ASX200 (135 companies) using the framework to guide their climate disclosures – a 31% increase on the year before.  
  • 61% of the ASX200 have made net zero commitments, compared to 48% last year.  
  • Australia’s largest companies have committed to the transition, with 80% of the market capitalisation of the ASX200 having set targets to transition their companies to net zero emissions.  
  • Medium-term (from 2026-2039) emission reduction targets have increased by 26% since last year. A 9% decline in short-term targets (to 2025) is due to a combination of changes in the ASX200 index and to companies having met their short-term targets. Fourteen percent of companies with net zero commitments have no interim targets, which calls into question the credibility of their net zero commitments.
  • Scope 3 targets remain rare, with only 43 companies, or 22% of the ASX200, setting some form of Scope 3 target. However, 110 companies reported Scope 3 emissions, so their next step must be to develop strategies to reduce those emissions.
  • 41 companies from the ASX200 have disclosed using a carbon price in investment and capital decision-making, an increase of 41% from last year.
  • Forty-nine percent of companies make some reference to carbon offsets in their climate strategies, but disclosure on the quantity, type, projects and hierarchy of their use is limited.  Just 29% of companies refer to the intention to first reduce emissions through abatement and use offsets only for residual emissions.
  • 118 companies (59% of the ASX200) undertake scenario analysis, a significant increase on last year’s 88 companies (44%). Importantly, 91 of those companies use a 1.5°C or below 2°C Paris-aligned scenario.
  • However, despite its importance in testing future business resilience to transitional and physical climate risks, the reporting of this scenario analysis often lacks quality and depth, with just 61 of the 118 companies disclosing more than a basic assessment.  

This research relies on information publicly reported by ASX200 companies up to 31 March 2023 including annual reports, sustainability reports, TCFD and climate reports, company websites and ASX announcements. We have not independently verified this information. Additional context was drawn from ACSI’s ongoing engagement with directors of ASX200 companies.