One of the most important greenhouse gases (because it has the strongest impact on the climate) is methane. It is quite obvious that if methane leaks occur in our company's operations, climate change issues will be relevant to us. The same may be true if we are associated with methane leaks through business relationships in our value chain.
We can support each other in analyzing this issue using data obtained from the initiative. Carbon Mapper. For several years, this initiative has been collecting and publishing data on methane leaks recorded in various ways. Since last week, one of the sources of data has been observations made by a satellite specially designed for this purpose. The data can be viewed free of charge at this website.
Is Carbon Mapper a complete source of information on methane emissions? No. Do we have to use it because standards require it? No. So why should we bother with it? Because it is one of many sources of information that we can use in our materiality assessment. If we operate in an industry where methane leaks occur, or if such industries include companies with which we have business relationships within the value chain, then we can use Carbon Mapper. Perhaps we will obtain information from it that will confirm our belief that climate change is an important issue for us.
When conducting materiality testing, there are usually many dilemmas of this type: which sources to use, which reports to refer to. And that's a good thing! Materiality testing is all about searching for information that will allow us to determine what is material. There are as many paths leading to this determination as there are companies for which materiality studies are conducted. Therefore, the ESRS standards do not impose a single correct research methodology or provide a closed list of information sources. Instead, we must always exercise due diligence when conducting research.
Due diligence is dynamic in nature. There is no predefined detailed list of activities that must be performed in order for it to be fulfilled. It always depends on the specific circumstances: the company for which the audit is being conducted, its key stakeholders, but also the social and economic circumstances in which the audit is being conducted.
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