NEW YORK, N.Y. — A group of 143 institutional investors with assets of $20 trillion under management have written to the 500 largest quoted companies in the world by market capitalization, asking for the disclosure of investment-relevant information concerning their greenhouse gas emissions. This is the third time such a request has been made.

In this request a larger group of investors have collaborated to ask for this data. Corporations that previously provided responses are invited to report progress. Companies that previously did not respond are requested to do so, or to provide a reason why they do not believe the request is relevant to their business.

Commenting on the information request, Paul Dickinson, the project coordinator, said: "The numerous indications of accelerating human induced climate change make it clear that there are business risks and opportunities that have implications for the value of investments in corporations worldwide. Examples include changes in weather patterns, political and regulatory momentum moving against significant carbon emitters; the development of emissions-sensitive technologies, products and services superseding those existing today; and shifts in consumer sentiment due to a corporation's stance on climate change.

This makes it necessary for investors to improve their understanding of climate change risks and opportunities. The data to assess these issues is not always available, sometimes lacks comparability or is of poor quality. The Carbon Disclosure Project aims to encourage the development of a common emissions measurement methodology and to facilitate its integration into general investment analysis. The signatories recognize that companies face pressure to comply with constant demands for information and so have joined in this single call for information to reduce the number of requests."

The recipient corporations have been asked to respond within four months and the information received will be used to compile a thematic report by Innovest Strategic Value Advisors who have been retained to perform the analysis. The report will be distributed to participating institutional investors and companies that respond to the questionnaire, and made publicly available online from September 2005. All submitted data authorized for publication will also be available from the web site at this time.

This initiative has been coordinated by the Carbon Disclosure Project, a special project of the Philanthropic Collaborative of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors in New York.

The group of investors is not a legal entity and the Carbon Disclosure Project has no authority to make any other statement on behalf of the participants.