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POLICY IMPLEMENTATION 039national climate action plans will help companies to better anticipate policy changes, enabling them to more confidently take progressive action.Companies, however, have just an important role in upholding this new era of transparency. As Senator Whitehouse notes in his recent article for Harvard Business Review, corporations have a responsibility to ensure that their actions and position on climate change are duly reflected by their trade associations. Through CDP and We Mean Business, 119 companies have committed to do more on this issue by responsibly engaging on climate policy. We need more businesses to do the same. INVESTOR ACTION As CDP has been testament to over the past 15 years, investors are a force to be reckoned with when it comes to driving transparency. What started as a trickle has rapidly become a flood of investors demanding more accurate, complete and comparable environmental information from businesses. CDP’s investor signatory base has grown 20 fold since our inception and now stands at 827 institutional investors representing US$100 trillion in assets.How these investors use this data is critical – especially if we are to implement the Paris Agreement. A growing number of investors are already taking action by seeking to put their portfolios ahead of the curve on climate change. The New York State Pension fund’s launch of a US$2 billion index, using CDP data, is just one example. It will exclude or reduce investments in high emitting companies and increase low-carbon investment. Speaking at the launch of the index in Paris last year, the fund’s Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said: “We are hoping to use the markets to move the companies in the right direction.” With the deal, the core principles of measurement, transparency and accountability matter more than ever. CDP, which operates the global environmental disclosure system, is at the heart of this transition to a new, low-carbon world. Already nearly a fifth of global greenhouse gas emissions are reported and managed through us, as reported by companies representing nearly 60 per cent of global market capitalization.The Paris Agreement provides a new North Star for business, investors, cities, states and regions. Fundamentally, it tells us that the transition to a thriving, secure and clean economy is inevitable, therefore high-carbon capital expenditure is now an expensive mistake. This clear signal of the direction of travel – along with the ambitious commitments of national governments – will leverage the private sector, providing the power to really fuel low-carbon investment. For us to make our win in Paris count, we now need to set our sights even higher.ABOUT THE AUTHORPaul Dickinson is Executive Chairman of CDP. He founded CDP in 2000 with an ambition of creating a global economic system that operates within sustainable environmental boundaries and prevents dangerous climate change. Mr Dickinson previously founded Rufus Leonard Corporate Communications and EyeNetwork, the largest videoconference service in Europe. He served as a member of the Environmental Research Group of the UK Faculty and Institute of Actuaries. He has authored various publications, including Beautiful Corporations. ■ABOUT CDPCDP is a not-for-profit that​ runs the global disclosure system that shows how companies and cities are managing their environmental impacts.For more information vPictured: Paul Dickinsonisit:www.cdp.net /@CDP