Uploaded December 2025 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Nearly 3 out of 4 S&P 500 companies have revised their emissions data—and 135 million tons of carbon went underreported. That's equivalent to the combined annual emissions of Venezuela, Nigeria, Qatar, and Kuwait.
Harvard Business School professors Ethan Rouen and Lauren Cohen reveal groundbreaking research showing that 74% of S&P 500 companies have revised their emissions data at least once, with the majority of revisions going upward (meaning they initially underreported). Compare that to financial reporting: only 2% of companies restate their earnings. The difference? There are real consequences for getting financial data wrong, but none for climate misreporting.
Read the full investigation: www.hbs.edu/bigs/harvard-study-74-percent-sp-500-companies-revise-emissions-data
Key findings:
– 74% of S&P 500 firms revised emissions data at least once from 2010-2024
– 58% of publicly traded firms' reported emissions are misstated (30x higher than financial misstatements at 2%)
– Net underreporting totals 135 million tons—more than all but 35 countries globally
– Companies rarely explain revisions (often just footnotes)
– Executive compensation tied to emissions goals correlates with notable revision patterns
– Third-party assurance and institutional investors show no impact on accuracy
Timestamps:
0:00 - Introduction: 135 million tons underreported
0:38 - How the research began: Spotting errors in ESG reports
2:01 - 58% of emissions data is misstated vs 2% of financial data
2:42 - What's driving the widespread revisions?
3:43 - Why third-party assurance doesn't help
4:23 - 135 million tons: The scale visualized
4:48 - Why accurate corporate emissions data matters
5:28 - Why are so many companies getting this wrong?
5:59 - Executive compensation: A troubling correlation
6:52 - What investors need to know
7:34 - Who depends on this data (And why bad data hurts)
8:17 - The case for federal climate regulation
9:19 - Message to investors and companies
10:44 - Optimism for the future
#Climate #ESG #CorporateEmissions #Sustainability #ClimateData #CarbonEmissions #ESGInvesting
Nearly 3 out of 4 S&P 500 companies have revised their emissions data—and 135 million tons of carbon went underreported. That's equivalent to the combined annual emissions of Venezuela, Nigeria, Qatar, and Kuwait.
Harvard Business School professors Ethan Rouen and Lauren Cohen reveal groundbreaking research showing that 74% of S&P 500 companies have revised their emissions data at least once, with the majority of revisions going upward (meaning they initially underreported). Compare that to financial reporting: only 2% of companies restate their earnings. The difference? There are real consequences for getting financial data wrong, but none for climate misreporting.
Read the full investigation: www.hbs.edu/bigs/harvard-study-74-percent-sp-500-companies-revise-emissions-data
Key findings:
– 74% of S&P 500 firms revised emissions data at least once from 2010-2024
– 58% of publicly traded firms' reported emissions are misstated (30x higher than financial misstatements at 2%)
– Net underreporting totals 135 million tons—more than all but 35 countries globally
– Companies rarely explain revisions (often just footnotes)
– Executive compensation tied to emissions goals correlates with notable revision patterns
– Third-party assurance and institutional investors show no impact on accuracy
Timestamps:
0:00 - Introduction: 135 million tons underreported
0:38 - How the research began: Spotting errors in ESG reports
2:01 - 58% of emissions data is misstated vs 2% of financial data
2:42 - What's driving the widespread revisions?
3:43 - Why third-party assurance doesn't help
4:23 - 135 million tons: The scale visualized
4:48 - Why accurate corporate emissions data matters
5:28 - Why are so many companies getting this wrong?
5:59 - Executive compensation: A troubling correlation
6:52 - What investors need to know
7:34 - Who depends on this data (And why bad data hurts)
8:17 - The case for federal climate regulation
9:19 - Message to investors and companies
10:44 - Optimism for the future
#Climate #ESG #CorporateEmissions #Sustainability #ClimateData #CarbonEmissions #ESGInvesting
