The production of air pollutants, such as nitrogen oxides and sulphur oxides, through companies’ operations and business activities, has adverse effects on the climate, habitats, biodiversity, agriculture, air quality and the health of both animals and humans (GRI, 2021). Moreover, the increase in certain air pollutants can disrupt the provision of ecosystem services, for example nutrient cycling and carbon cycling, but also water supply, on which planetary and human life depends. As such, this indicator measures companies’ approach to measuring and reducing harmful air pollutants across the value chain, including beyond national and international regulations.

A note on the scoring system

Wikirate uses a standardized 10-point scoring system to enable comparison of company scores across different benchmarks. In the Nature Benchmark, companies can earn 1 point per indicator, which are then added together and calculated as a percentage of the total score for a measurement area (MA) to determine the final score for the MA. The overall Wikirate score is calculated by combining these scores with the appropriate weightings, and converting them to a 10-point scale. For instance, if a company achieves a final score of 50, the corresponding WikiRating will be 5.