Despite an increase in corporations pledging more environmentally friendly policies, many plans are inadequate, according to a new report by a company that advocates for action on climate change. One corporation drawing scrutiny is CVS Health, as it soared past its carbon emissions reduction target before it was even announced, The Wall Street Journal reported Feb. 7.
In 2021, CVS Health set a target of reducing carbon emissions from the goods and services it buys by 47 percent by 2030. However, the NewClimate Institute report said CVS set the base year as 2019, a year in which the company's carbon emissions produced were extremely high. In 2020, these emissions fell by 53 percent, meaning CVS hit its target before it publicly announced the goal.
NewClimate Institute said that by setting 2019 as its base year, CVS' actions might lack integrity. The group released a report analyzing the climate pledges of 25 big companies and found corporate plans largely lacked detail and showed "little sense of urgency."
A spokesperson for CVS Health said 2019 was chosen because it was the first year after the completion of the Aetna merger, which accounts for the jump in emissions, and that the target year of 2030 was chosen before the data for 2020 was analyzed. The spokesperson also said the goal is likely to be updated and that CVS is on track to reach its goal of net-zero emissions by 2050.