The TCFD recommendations: a missed opportunity for harmonisation?

by Carol A Adams The Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (hereafter Task Force) was established by the Financial Stability Board (FSB), an international body that monitors the global financial system. Chaired by Michael Bloomberg the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Cities and Climate Change, it published recommendations in December 2016. The purpose of the […]

KPMG’s approach to valuing externalities: better decisions or fundamentally flawed?

by Carol Adams Approaches to valuing social and environmental activities have recently provided consultants with a new stream of work and academics with something to critique.  Some are genuinely horrified at the prospect of putting a monetary value or cost on something which is priceless, such as water or biodiversity. KPMG’s New Vision of Value might […]

World Forum on Natural Capital kicks off

The World Forum on Natural Capital took off in Edinburgh this morning and was opened with a video of HRH Prince Charles making a heartfelt call to action on accounting for natural capital. He was followed by Nicola Sturgeon, First Minister for Scotland, the Scottish Government being a key sponsor of the event. She spoke […]

Exploring metaphors of capitals and the framing of multiple capitals: challenges and opportunities for IR

by Andrea Coulson, Carol A Adams, Michael Nugent and Kathryn Haynes published in the Sustainability Accounting, Management and Policy Journal The purpose of this paper is to explore the potential of the metaphor of capital, and to chart the development of the multiple capitals concept in the International <IR> Framework and consider how it might develop […]

Just released: new CDSB Framework for reporting on environmental information & natural capital

On June 8th in London the Climate Disclosure Standards Board launched its Framework for reporting environmental infortmation and natural capital. Key features of the Framework are its focus on reporting environmental information linked to strategy, overall performance and financial information in mainstream reports which is useful to providers of capital. A key objective is to ‘enable and encourage […]

Case Studies: Integrated approaches to environmental sustainability

by Carol A Adams, Roger Burritt and Geoff Frost These case studies were developed to assist practitioners and academics in understanding the relationships between environmental management systems, external environmental reporting, stakeholder engagement and drivers of organisational change leading to improved environmental performance. Together they provide guidance for organisational participants in making choices about the development […]

The Climate Disclosure Standards Board (CDSB): A response to the consultation draft Framework

by Carol A Adams The Climate Disclosure Standards Board (CDSB) seeks to increase the amount and quality of environmental information included in “mainstream” reports.  It is a consortium of eight business and environmental organisations seeking to help investors make informed decisions on the allocation of financial capital in a manner which supports environmental protection.  The […]

Divestment backlash shows companies need to improve sustainability reporting

By Carol A Adams Tony Abbott’s criticisms of the ANU’s divestment decision will come back to bite him. The tide of change is such that Vice-Chancellor Ian Young and the ANU Council will be seen as leaders. Others will follow. Abbott has added his voice to a growing chorus condemning the decision by ANU to […]

The real story behind Brazil’s ‘greenest World Cup’

By Carol A Adams This year’s World Cup was supposed to be the “greenest ever”, with FIFA taking measures to account for the event’s greenhouse gas emissions, including an estimated 2.7 million tonnes of carbon dioxide. As the biggest sporting event on the planet, FIFA is under pressure to take its sustainability measures seriously. It […]

Changing behaviour through sustainable sourcing and responsible lending

written by Sachiko Suzuki Increasing globalisation is making it increasingly harder to trace where and how goods are sourced and produced, or where your savings and superannuation are ultimately being invested. This article was spurred by a recent Oxfam report on the linkages between Australian Big-Four banks and land grabbing in developing countries: Banking on […]