We are in the midst of Climate Week NYC, the annual charity event that aims to galvanize support for action on global warming.
This is normally an occasion for my inbox to clog up with initiatives, statements and reports related to business and climate. I’ve got a fair few, but it feels like not as many as in previous years.
That may, of course, be due to the change in mood around companies and environmental commitments. As has been well covered, issuers and investors are talking about ESG less, especially in the US.
Still, there are a couple of items I wanted to flag for IR teams. First of all, the IFRS Foundation has released a guide for companies on the voluntary application of ISSB Standards.
The document offers advice on how to get started with applying the standards, as well as tips for describing your level of adoption to investors. For example, it explains instances where a company could or couldn’t describe itself as ISSB-compliant.
Supporting the release is a renewed call from global investors, including Norges Bank Investment Management, for companies to adopt the standards – a reminder that, despite all the negativity around ESG, the investment community is still broadly pushing for more information on emissions, as well as other environmental areas.
You may also be interested in news of the expanded partnership between disclosure platform CDP and the Net-Zero Data Public Utility (NZDPU).
The idea behind the NZDPU – a late but impressive addition to the ESG alphabet soup – is to create a free-to-access global repository of corporate emissions data, making it easier to scrutinize companies’ net-zero plans.
‘The next phase of collaboration will make core climate data from more than 10,000 companies publicly accessible as the NZDPU moves from proof of concept to production,’ notes a statement from the two parties.
What do these announcements mean for IR? Both signal further progress toward ESG data becoming more available and comparable. Companies that perform well in these metrics should benefit, while laggards can expect more scrutiny.
Are you having more or fewer conversations with investors about sustainability? And what ESG data points are coming up the most? Get in touch and let us know at [email protected] or on LinkedIn.
