Apple Vice President: "Companies Should Broadly Disclose Greenhouse Gas Emission Information"

Lisa Jackson Apple Vice President [Image source= Twitter capture]

[Asia Economy Reporter Byunghee Park] Apple’s Vice President Lisa Jackson has argued that companies should broadly disclose their greenhouse gas emission information.

On the 13th (local time), according to major foreign media, Vice President Jackson expressed this view on Twitter and stated that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) should require companies to disclose more information.

Last month, the SEC announced its position that it would seek opinions on how companies should report information related to greenhouse gas emissions and climate change.

Although investors' interest in companies' Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) management has been increasing recently, methods and standards for disclosing related information have not yet been properly established.

Vice President Jackson argued that the SEC should require companies to disclose up to Scope 3 information regarding greenhouse gas emissions. Scope 3 information refers to emissions by affiliates and partners. Greenhouse gas emissions are generally managed in three scopes: Scope 1 refers to direct emissions, and Scope 2 refers to indirect emissions generated during the production of electricity and heat.

ExxonMobil, the largest U.S. oil company under significant pressure from activist investors, disclosed its Scope 3 emissions information for the first time in January.

Lisa Jackson is in charge of environmental and social policy at Apple. Jackson served as the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency during the Barack Obama administration and joined Apple in 2013.

Meanwhile, on the 13th, more than 310 U.S. companies sent a letter to President Joe Biden requesting him to confirm a reduction target to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 50% of the 2005 levels by 2030, and Apple also joined this effort.

President Biden is expected to announce the U.S. greenhouse gas reduction target for 2030 following the re-entry into the Paris Climate Agreement. Ahead of the Climate Summit on the 22nd, the reduction target is expected to be disclosed, and it is anticipated to be about twice as ambitious as the Obama administration’s target. The Obama administration set a goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 26-28% from 2005 levels by 2025. The Biden administration is reportedly considering a plan to reduce emissions by about 50% compared to 2005 levels by 2030.