Carbon Savvy: How did you come to start Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP)?

Paul Dickinson: The idea was born in discussions with our founding chair, Tessa Tennant, in the summer of 2000.  We realised that the largest fund managers in effect control the world’s largest companies, and what investors really need is information to help them respond to the risks and opportunities companies face from climate change. We looked at how investors could ask the companies they own for information on their climate-related risks, opportunities and emissions. Once companies see the risks clearly, they start taking action. CDP now represents 650 institutional investors with $100 trillion in assets under management. Since this is roughly equivalent to global gross domestic product, it now has the attention of big business.

CS: How big is the organisation and what are its main activities?

PD: CDP has around 700 employees and an income of about $100 million annually. Most important is that 23,000 corporations and 1,000 cities report on their performance on climate change every year. You can visit the website and download their responses for free.

CS: What made you want to cofound Mitchell & Dickinson, which was initially a small retrofit company based in Devon?

PD: I met Mukti Mitchell when he was sailing around the UK in 2007 and found him inspiring and so passionate about climate change. He had prototyped plexiglass secondary glazing on a couple of homes, so it seemed natural for us to go into business offering this and other insulation services, focussing on helping owners of period properties. To me, insulation is the bricks and mortar of carbon reductions, something that every person can do, so I wanted to help grow this important business. I am delighted the company has now insulated 1,400 homes and saved over 100,000 tonnes of CO2. I have also learnt a lot about insulation, which is immensely important. If you haven’t already, you need to insulate your home!

As sponsors of Carbon Savvy, Mitchell & Dickinson are pleased to offer all Carbon Savvy readers a £500 discount on insulating your home – simply quote the promo code “Carbon Savvy”.

CS: What is Outrage and Optimism, and how did you get involved?

PD: O&O is one of the leading podcasts on climate change with over 5 million downloads. I co-present with Christiana Figueres and Tom Rivett-Carnac. When Tom was working at CDP I introduced him to Christiana who was Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC, and they worked together to secure the Paris Agreement in 2015. We have been friends ever since. We felt that the world needs to be outraged about climate change, but also optimistic about the future we can create, so that’s what the podcast is all about.

CS: What excites you most in the world of carbon reductions today?

PD: The way the whole world is pivoting to focus on securing scientifically-sound CO2 reductions. I believe the drivers for this are firstly, extreme weather has horrified billions of people around the world, so the global public are much more likely to support action and leadership. Secondly, the invasion of Ukraine has demonstrated that fossil fuel supplies are unreliable, and dependence equals vulnerability. Only 10% of the world population live in oil-exporting countries, while 80% live in oil-importing countries. This means countries are now in a stronger position to drive change than ever before.  Many businesses and companies can make actions on a voluntary basis, and beyond these greenhouse gas emissions can also be driven down on a national level by many different measures including:

1. Taxes on GHGs
2. Subsidies for alternatives
3. Regulations and bans
4. Industrial policy promoting key technologies

The exciting thing is that many countries are now working with CDP to develop the right legislation to bring this about. When we finally do this, the world will become safe again.

Find out more about the organisations Paul works with by following these links:

Carbon Disclosure Project, Mitchell&Dickinson, Outrage& Optimism