FIVE SUSTAINABILITY AND ENERGY TRENDS TO WATCH IN 2018 Posted February 8, 2018 by Jordan Chamberlain What’s in store for 2018? We’ve highlighted five trends we expect to see in the coming year. We hope this summary helps keep a pulse on what’s new and inspires you to further explore these and other emerging trends. Increased transparency around the financial risks posed by climate change The potential scale of risk to assets is generating growing global investor concern and driving demands that climate change risks be assessed and disclosed in a measurable and consistent way. Increasingly, some of the largest investment houses in the world – including Vanguard, Blackrock and State Street – are setting policies to support shareholder demands for greater transparency. In June 2017, the Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) issued recommendations for reporting on the financial risks from climate change. The recommendations guide organizations to look at both physical risks (e.g., wildfires, sea-level rise and extreme storm events) and transitional risks (e.g., Read More
What do the Task force on Climate-related Financial Disclosure Recommendations mean for your organization? Posted January 24, 2018 by Jordan Chamberlain The Task force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD; Task Force) was formed by the Financial Stability Board (FSB) in 2015 in response to: the potential threat that climate change posed to the global financial system; and a lack of transparent, consistent and high-quality financial information related to the potential risks and opportunities of climate change. In June 2017, the TCFD published a set of recommendations focused on four core operational elements – governance, strategy, risk management and metrics, and targets. These recommendations are designed to be implemented across all sectors to varying degrees. Following the release of the recommendations, 390 investors representing over USD $22 trillion in assets requested that the G20 nations support the recommendations. What does this all mean to you? There are several key factors to consider around the TCFD recommendations: You may already be aligning with some of the recommended disclosures through other reporting frameworks. See Read More
2018 CDP Climate Change Questionnaire: Influence of the TCFD and other Key Changes Posted January 8, 2018 by Zoey Kriete Following the financial crisis in the late 2000’s, the G20 established the Financial Stability Board (FSB) to identify and mitigate threats to the global financial system. In 2015 the FSB, led by New York City’s former Mayor Michael Bloomberg and comprised of members from global banking institutions, insurance companies, institutional investors, industrial and consumer products companies and experts on financial accounting and public disclosure, created the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD). The Task Force was developed in direct response to a: belief that climate change represents a growing systemic threat; lack of high-quality, consistent financial information related to the potential risks and opportunities associated with climate change; and growing need for transparency in company valuation and the ability to assess the risks organizations are facing. After numerous rounds of input, the TCFD published a set of recommendations in June 2017 to “help firms understand what financial markets want Read More
