June 21, 2010 | The Globe and Mail

By Janet McFarland

Major pension funds demanding more environmental data about the businesses they’ve invested in, but most companies are still not giving them key information about things such as energy and water consumption, according to a new review of corporate social responsibility in Canada.

Loblaw Cos. Ltd., Canada’s largest grocery chain operator, tops the ranking of corporate responsibility in the country, compiled by research group Corporate Knights Inc. The review assessed environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices of companies in Canada’s S&P/TSX 60 index.

The review found only 10 of 60 corporations in the index (17 per cent) disclosed detailed data on four environmental factors assessed in the ranking. Only 25 per cent of those companies provided data on their water use and waste production.

Fewer than half (47 per cent) reported their energy use, while 58 per cent disclosed their carbon-dioxide emissions.

“These four things – energy, carbon, water and waste – are the four things that are the most core and universally applicable indicators,” said Toby Heaps, editor-in-chief of Corporate Knights.

Among companies reporting all four criteria, Bombardier Inc. had the best environmental performance, the review concluded. (Read: Bombardier ranks No. 1 for environmental practices )

The factors used in the assessment – a total of 12 criteria, including governance and social factors – were selected based on their broad acceptance as key ESG ratios, and because they are relevant among all companies regardless of what industry they’re in, Mr. Heaps said.

Unlike many other corporate responsibility rankings, the marking system is fully transparent; details of all factors considered are available in our methodology.