On 13 August, Black Sun welcomed two special guests on a panel discussion around the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) framework: Special Advisor at the Singapore Exchange and Vice-Chair of the TCFD, Lian Sim Yeo, as well as our very own Chief Insight Officer, Sallie Pilot. In the webinar, we also presented the overall findings of our analysis of TCFD Reporting among the FTSE 100 companies. A recording of the webinar can be found here.

Key findings include:

• Still less than half (44%) of FTSE 100 Chairmen or Chief Executives address climate change in the leadership statements of their latest annual report
• Majority of FTSE 100 companies reference TCFD in reporting (67%, up from 39% in 2018), but still very few are meeting all disclosure recommendations (only 3% align to all recommendations)
• More are discussing climate risks, with 46% disclosing climate issues among principal risks, while challenges still remain in embedding intro strategy with only 7% discussing resilience of their strategy
• We see a step up in governance as this year sees 48% discussing Board oversight of climate related issues (up from 26% in 2018). However, the discussion is mainly focused on WHO takes responsibility at Board and management levels, with little information on HOW the Board has oversight.

The full research report, ‘Accelerated Action for Climate Resilience’, can be found here.

Some notable quotes from our panellists: 

 ‘[The TCFD framework] being a market solution, a recommendation by market practitioners to other market practitioners, [has] more assurance that it is implementable… the ask may be a big one, but [companies] can go some way towards it, rather than having someone higher up imposing down a standard...’

Lian Sim Yeo

‘From a practitioner point of view, it is a very helpful tool in supporting stakeholder engagement. The framework gives companies the opportunity to engage with their stakeholders about how they are engaging pro-actively with the risk and opportunities presented by climate change. ‘

Sallie Pilot

Companies could do well to look at [climate change] holistically. Previously there was so much emphasis on up-to-the-minute reporting, that… [we must not forget] the other side which is the long-term… As more capabilities are developed in the [scenario analysis] area, we will be on a better footing as these will naturally be embedded in [strategic] planning.

Lian Sim Yeo

 

For more information on how Black Sun can help you with your climate reporting challenges please reach out to Naomi Hawkins. We can help customise a solution ranging from peer assessment to organising internal workshops, tailored to your desired audiences.

 

To find out more about our TCFD research, or to receive a copy, visit our TCFD Research page.