CDP and CDSB respond to the release of the Task Force phase II report.
LONDON, 14 December, 2016: CDP, which began securing climate disclosure from companies in 2002, and the Climate Disclosure Standards Board (CDSB), the NGO advancing non-financial reporting in mainstream filings, today welcome the Financial Stability Board’s Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) recommendations to integrate climate information into mainstream financial reporting.
Paul Simpson, CEO of CDP said: “We welcome the TCFD recommendations as they have the potential to further 'normalize' climate information in companies mainstream financial filings. Nearly 6000 companies disclosed through CDP this year representing some 60% of global market capitalization. However, many companies have yet to align business strategies with the requirements of the Paris agreement and the TCFD recommendation on scenario analysis will enable better information for investors to assess this risk. We thank the Task Force for their leadership and look forward to working together on our shared goal of driving forward disclosure. The next step will be for the G20 governments to consider whether such disclosure should become mandatory over time."
The Task Force recommendations seek to further clarify reporting requirements for companies on financial risk from climate change effects for the benefit of lenders, insurers and investors. In particular, CDP and CDSB welcome the Task Force decision to:
- Recommend reporters integrate climate-related information in their mainstream financial reports. This will bring climate change further into the boardroom as every board must consider and sign off on their mainstream filings. It will ensure climate risk information is disclosed with the same rigour as financial information and allow investors to hold these boards to account for their management of climate risk;
- Recommend all companies describe the potential impact of different scenarios, including a 2 °C pathway and disclose the potential impacts, bringing the “future” of climate risk into the present.
- Encourage both financial and non-financial organizations to adopt the recommendations. We recognize the crucial role they have in ensuring a transition to a low-carbon economy, as their leadership will drive the development of more sustainable economic systems;
Richard Samans, Chairman, CDSB, said: "The FSB Task Force is setting a new corporate governance norm. It is saying that in the 21st century a well governed company must regularly test its business strategy against climate change-related risks and report on management’s strategy in this respect in the mainstream report. This added rigour and accountability to shareholders will compel the attention of CFOs, CEOs and Boards of Directors as never before.
That is ultimately what has been needed to price in climate risk in corporate capital expenditures and investor asset allocations. For the past 10 years, the coalition of business and environmental organizations in the Climate Disclosure Standards Board (CDSB) has been working towards creating best practice in reporting, and we look forward to helping to make the Task Force’s recommendations common practice.”
CDP and CDSB will be participating in the public consultation over the next 60 days, and will release a detailed public response to the draft recommendations. Both organizations are committed to adopting the Task Force recommendations across all sectors once they have been formally presented to the G20 in July, and are encouraging external stakeholders to engage throughout the consultation period. CDP and CDSB will continue to ask the relevant climate questions on a global platform helping companies prepare for TCFD adoption. We will also analyze the disclosures across sectors to provide enhanced insights to enable better understanding of climate performance and prepare capital markets for a more sustainable future.
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Notes to editor
For more information or for exclusive interviews with the CDP team, please contact:
Claire Barraclough, CDP | e: | +44(0)7957 730631
For interview with CDSB please get in touch with:
Denise Puca, Communications Manager, CDSB at or 07825409060
About CDP
CDP, formerly Carbon Disclosure Project, is an international, not-for-profit organization providing the global system for companies, cities, states and regions to measure, disclose, manage and share vital information on their environmental performance. CDP, voted number one climate research provider by investors, works with 827 institutional investors with assets of US$100 trillion and 89 purchasing organisations with a combined annual spend of over US$2.7 trillion, to motivate companies to disclose their impacts on the environment and natural resources and take action to reduce them. Some 5,800 companies, representing close to 60% global market capitalization, disclosed environmental information through CDP in 2016. CDP now holds the most comprehensive collection globally of primary corporate environmental data and puts these insights at the heart of strategic business, investment and policy decisions. Please follow us @CDP to find out more.
About CDSB
The Climate Disclosure Standards Board (CDSB) is an international consortium of business and environmental NGOs. We are committed to advancing and aligning the global mainstream corporate reporting model to equate natural capital with financial capital.
CDSB will align its guidance and training material to the recommendations to operationalize the crucial work of the Task Force. With over 350 companies across four continents now using the CDSB Framework to report climate change and environmental information in their mainstream reports, CDSB is uniquely positioned to mainstream best practice in the reporting space, encouraging companies and investors to globally to achieve the ambition of the Task Force.