[Editor's Note: The following reflects revisions by CDP on September 17. A chart originally published in this preview is to appear in the full report being released Monday. The passage describing international findings also was amended, but the underlying data remains the same.]

What concrete actions are firms taking to tackle climate change in 2009? This week Paul Dickinson, CEO of Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), addresses this question by offering daily "sneak peeks" at the results of this year's CDP Global 500 and S&P 500 Reports, produced by PricewaterhouseCoopers, ahead of their September 21 launch in New York.

Backed by 475 institutional investors with assets of over US $55 trillion, Carbon Disclosure Project's climate change information request was sent to 3,700 of the world's largest corporations to discover how businesses are managing their carbon emissions and climate change risks and opportunities

This year has been a tremendous one for CDP and especially for the Global 500 Report. Since the first CDP report in 2003, the quantity and quality of data disclosed has advanced significantly -- a credit to those investors and companies participating in the initiative. The overall Global 500 response rate for CDP 2009 is 82 percent (409) up from 77 percent (383), and the total number of non-respondents is now under 100 for the first time. Given that companies have had to make decisions on where to save on costs in the current economic landscape, these results are heartening and show that climate change is climbing the corporate agenda.

Five countries -- France, Germany, Japan, the United States and the United Kingdom -- out of 30 accounted for both 70 percent of respondents and 70 percent of total emissions disclosed (Scopes 1 and 2). European firms lead in performance with seven of the top 12 firms coming from the continent (five are from North America), but the most dramatic findings in this year's report come from Asia.

The number of Asian companies responding has shot up significantly after last year's findings, and one Asian firm even went to the top of the Carbon Disclosure Leadership Index (CDLI) this year. I can't disclose which firm this is until September 21, but I can say the company hit the Top 10 list of the CDLI for the first time.

It shows Asian companies are taking the lead on the agenda even though domestic climate regulation is still under development. If the political will and executive buy-in is there, then aggressive policies on climate change can be executed.

Increased engagement across business at an international level is fundamental to tackling climate change; a truly global issue that has no boundaries. With the Global 500's reported Scope 1 emissions alone equating to 11.5 percent of global emissions, the influence that those firms hold in emissions reduction is clear.

In the run-up to Copenhagen, the world's largest companies can play a major role in helping to shape an international agreement. With just 36 percent of emissions reduction targets running beyond 2012, a global deal will be crucial for those companies looking to set mid- and long-term targets.   

Paul Dickinson is the Chief Executive Officer of the Carbon Disclosure Project. More information about CDP is available at www.cdproject.net and by following the organization on Twitter @CDProject. 

Image CC licensed by Flickr user artemuestra.