A man in a high-vis jacket rests his laptop on a rooftop solar panel in a city
Global coverage: China’s huge output of solar panels has accelerated a shift to clean energy worldwide © Getty Images

Climate change is a global problem, but if any one region holds the key to tackling it, it might be Asia.

Home to more than half of the world’s population, it produces more than half of global greenhouse gas emissions, and remains heavily dependent on fossil fuels. Yet the Asian region is also a prime source of the technologies that will help the world transition to clean energy. China’s huge, state-backed output of solar panels — about three-quarters of global supply — has helped drive a massive expansion in solar capacity worldwide.

This creates both challenges and opportunities for Asia-Pacific businesses. While manufacturers in countries as diverse as Taiwan and Pakistan are under pressure from the western brands they supply to cut carbon emissions, cheap solar panels from China offer a solution that also shields them from sometimes fragile local grids.

To track how quickly the region’s companies are reducing their GHG emissions, the Financial Times and Statista, the German data provider, are compiling their fourth annual list of Asia-Pacific Climate Leaders.

The aim is to identify those businesses whose greenhouse gas emissions intensity — that is, emissions relative to revenue — fell the most between 2018 and 2023. The list will be published in a print supplement of the Financial Times in mid-2025 and online at ft.com. A sister list covering European companies can be found here.

All Asia-Pacific companies with a minimum revenue of $50mn in 2023 are eligible for consideration (see below for the full list of eligible countries). 

In order to participate, we invite you to fill out a short questionnaire about your company’s GHG emissions for all available years between 2018 and 2023, and its revenue over the same period (or, for banks, the net interest income). We also ask you to send us a data verification form, which needs to be downloaded and signed.

As in previous years, eligibility for the list will be determined chiefly by the compound annual reduction rate (CARR) in the intensity of Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions, which arise respectively from a company’s own operations and from the energy it purchases.

However, while Scope 1 and 2 emissions are relatively easy to measure, they are typically dwarfed by so-called Scope 3 emissions, which occur elsewhere in the value chain and are far harder to quantify. Businesses’ transparency on Scope 3 will therefore also contribute to their final score in the list, along with their performance as assessed by climate standard-setters CDP and SBTi, and, more than in previous years, their progress on absolute emissions.

Potential candidates will be contacted by Statista or can put their name forward at the Statista website, which also has more information about the methodology, conditions of participation and useful contacts.

Why should my company participate?

▩ NEW BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES

Inclusion in the Asia-Pacific Climate Leaders list will be a visible and public acknowledgment of your company’s environmental performance that extends far beyond your specific industry and country. It will also generate attention for your business on the part of potential partners, customers, employees and investors around the world.

▩ EFFECTIVE MEDIA COVERAGE

The full list will be published in a special report (a supplement within a weekday edition of the FT newspaper), and online at ft.com. The report will also include articles by FT journalists on interesting companies, sectors and trends within the sustainability field.

▩ REPUTATION

All companies that make it on to the list may use the award logo for marketing purposes¹.

Who is eligible?

To be considered for inclusion in the list your company must meet the following criteria:

  • Revenue of at least $50mn generated in 2023²

  • Headquartered in the Asia-Pacific region³

  • Reporting emissions data independently

  • If a CDP score has been assigned, it must be at least “B-” ⁴

How do I register?

STEP ONE: ONLINE REGISTRATION

Please register with Statista online here by December 15 2024. Alternatively, you can download the form and send it to climate-apac@statista.com upon completion.

STEP TWO: DATA VERIFICATION

Your emissions and revenue data need to be verified. The necessary form must be downloaded, signed in person by a managing director or a member of your executive committee (chief executive or chief sustainability officer), and then sent to Statista by email, fax or mail. All necessary address details can be found on the form.

Contact details

Should you have any additional questions or would otherwise like to contact us, please email climate-apac@statista.com

Footnotes

¹ The use of the label and the word-and-image logo “Asia-Pacific Climate Leaders 2025” for marketing purposes is subject to a one-off payment of a licence fee. Inclusion in the ranking, however, is completely free of charge.

² Currency value equivalent as of 31/12/2023.

³ Eligible to participate are all companies from the following places: Australia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Macau, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam.

⁴ For companies with emissions of over 2mn tonnes CO₂-equivalent, a CDP score of at least A- is mandatory.

Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2024. All rights reserved.
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