Top firms 'complacent on climate change'

Insight, the investment arm of HBOS, will this week warn that most of Britain's top companies are merely paying lip service to climate change, setting themselves weak targets and dodging meaningful commitments.

The survey of 125 companies – based on the FTSE 100 and Europe's 25 biggest firms – will reveal a worrying complacency among corporates, with most having no long-term plans to tackle climate change.

"We are seeing a 'wait and see' approach, with nobody really committing to anything beyond 2011," said Dr Rory Sullivan, author of the report.

The survey claims that just 47 companies out of 125 have stabilised or cut their greenhouse gas emissions during the past five years.

However, the report does praise BT, Marks & Spencer, BSkyB and National Grid, as leaders in the environmental arena for the "integration of climate change into their core activities".