ABSTRACT
This chapter will focus on individual company self-commitments related to emissions management (measurement and target-setting) as well as corporate information provision (disclosure) on climate change. These topics are connected to the voluntary initiatives discussed in Chapter 3, as voluntary agreements between business and government, and multistakeholder partnerships often involve and presuppose a good insight into company emissions, setting clear targets and reporting on progress. Compared to the co-operative initiatives, where political dimensions often play a large role, internal company activities are more operational in nature. They aim to effectively manage greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions internally, and to disclose information on the risks and opportunities of climate change to investors and other external stakeholders. We label all these initiatives to manage climate change ‘carbon control’, reflecting the tendency that a growing number of companies are starting to take climate change into account when making managerial decisions and/or feel the incentive to become accountable to stakeholders on the topic and need information on these matters. To obtain more insight into the way that climate change is (or can be) integrated into operational activities, this chapter will look at aspects related to organisational control systems that companies have implemented to keep track of their carbon footprint. In the process, we also indicate difficulties and choices related to measurement and target setting, and reporting developments.
