Half of S&P 500 Hire Auditors to Vet Emissions, Report Says

Roughly half of S&P 500 companies hired an outside vendor to vet their voluntarily reported carbon emissions, according to a Center for Audit Quality review of corporate climate disclosures.

Based on 2021 climate reports, 249 of the large US companies paid an auditor or other third-party provider to check their Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions. The data came from environmental, social, and governance reports or other similar disclosures that companies voluntarily publish, according to the center’s analysis released this week.

Scope 1 and 2 emissions stem from a company’s direct operations and power usage while scope 3 carbon emissions ...