Skidmore report corroborates ICAEW’s key messages

In January 2023, former Energy Minister Chris Skidmore published his Net Zero Review, making 129 recommendations all geared towards maximising economic investment, opportunities and jobs.

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Powering the labour market

The report finds that expanding solar and wind power has the capacity to create thousands more secure and skilled jobs across the whole of the UK, helping to reduce the cost of living, improve energy efficiency and advance the levelling up agenda.

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Plastic packaging tax to be introduced in 2022

Just months out from new plastic packaging taxes, businesses need to be ready for government measures to reduce plastic use and pollution. Prinal Nathwani, Holly Grantham and Jayne Harrold take a look at the proposed regimes in the UK and in Spain and Italy.

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What it’s like being a climate activist in Uganda

The world needs activists to bring the biggest problems into stark relief, argues Evelyn Acham – the more the better.

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Adair Turner: The mistakes we’ve made on climate, and where to focus now

The inaugural chair of the Climate Change Committee explains how the climate crisis breaks down into two distinct problems and discusses our chances of resolving them.

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Michael Izza on the role of chartered accountants in tackling the climate crisis

Michael Izza, chief executive of ICAEW, tells chartered accountants how they can use their skills and experience to fight the climate crisis.

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Climate change: the basics on getting started

Rebecca Self, Director of Financial Services and Isabel Hagbrink, Director of Communications at project developer and climate consultancy South Pole speak to ICAEW Insights about how businesses can get started on making a positive change for the climate.

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Six ways to embed climate change risk management

Company directors need to treat climate change risk as a key risk to their business, and do so as a matter of urgency, a joint report from the Chartered Institute of Internal Auditors and British Standards Institution shows.

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Let’s hear it for the blue economy

The oceans capture carbon, regulate temperatures, and protect from severe weather events. They are also our heroes in helping us achieve the sustainable development goals so let’s applaud them.

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TPT publishes guidance on securing transition finance

Expert body’s final batch of advice provides companies in every sector with insights on how to attract investment to support their journey to net zero.

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Carbon border adjustment mechanisms: a tool for global decarbonisation

Make sense of carbon leakage, global emissions, and the new trade policy that could reshape how the world tackles climate change.

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UK announces introduction of carbon border adjustment mechanism

A carbon pricing mechanism for imports will be implemented by 2027 to support decarbonisation.

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How will the EU carbon border adjustment mechanism affect UK businesses?

The EU's carbon border adjustment mechanism enters its transitional phase on 1 October 2023, meaning that UK businesses exporting to the EU must prepare for the changes.

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Grunberg goes net zero

Learn how Grunberg & Co Chartered Accountants have set a path for net zero by 2030

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UK government’s Net Zero Review touts business incentives

Tax incentives, a Help to Grow Green campaign for SMEs and reforms of the planning system are among the 129 recommendations made by Net Zero Review Chair, Chris Skidmore MP.

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10 Carbon Reduction Tips For Your Business

Net Zero Now have compiled a list of the top things you can do in your business or practice to reduce your carbon impact.

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The tax-efficient benefits of electric company cars

Sam Inkersole explains how electric company cars offer a favourable benefit in kind for employers and employees alike.

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Can tax policy help the UK achieve net zero?

Anita Monteith considers how policy levers can affect the most polluting sectors of transport, construction, power generation and industrial emissions, and wonders how governments can make up for the lost revenue from fuel duty.

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Pledge net zero 2022: carbon offsets from a programme you can visit

Where to start? That is the question lots of companies will ask their trusted adviser as they seek to meet their net zero pledges. Carbon offsetting is part of the mix, especially in the early stages of a net-zero pathway, but wouldn’t it help if companies could visit the projects they invest in?

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Drax: how finance can power ‘carbon negative’ energy generation

Drax’s senior finance manager Chris Simpson explains how finance is helping achieve the former coal power station’s goal of becoming the world’s first ‘carbon negative’ energy generator - the success of which is critical to the UK achieving its own net-zero goals.

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ICAEW’s journey to carbon neutrality - start yours now

In quarter three of 2020, ICAEW became the first professional body to achieve carbon neutral status. Our journey started in 2015; we measured, set targets and took small achievable steps to ensure we reduced our impact on climate change.

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Accountants should translate energy costs into carbon data

Angus Douglas, group finance director at Star Refrigeration, says accountants are well-positioned to translate pound notes into grams of carbon.

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Climate change must be part of your business plan

Climate change risk must be embedded into business risk planning, backed by cohesive policy changes from government, says GARP Risk Institute president.

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Hospitality targets ‘triple bottom line’ approach for recovery

Organisations in the hospitality sector are being urged to bolster their green credentials to meet the growing sustainability demands of both customers and potential staff as the sector looks to capitalise on the long-awaited rebound.

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Redesigning the system: the biggest job in finance

Restructuring the international financial system will help make money work toward preventing climate change, rather than accelerating it, a cohort of 40 businesses says.

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Addressing the climate emergency in the UK public sector

The UK has a lot of work to do and a dwindling amount of time in which to do it.

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Capacity Building for Sustainable Finance gains momentum

The Sustainable Finance Education Charter (SFEC) has released its third Annual Progress Report, showcasing the progress made by professional bodies throughout 2023 in advancing education and training in sustainable finance.

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New index helps brands avoid greenwashing and greenhushing

Heralded in a January project launch at the World Economic Forum in Davos, the inaugural Sustainability Gap Index examines the financial differences – and sometimes gulfs – between sustainability perceptions and performance across 4,000 brands.

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EU regulators step up scrutiny on greenwashing

Stamping out the rise of greenwashing should ensure investor protection and market integrity, and maintain a trusted environment for sustainable investments.

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IMF-backed directory aims to close climate data gaps

New online tool seeks to help market participants make better informed investment decisions to support the global push towards a low-carbon economy.

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ESG in Corporate Finance

ESG considerations can have a positive impact on a business’s decisions in relation to transactions. They can also be a driver of transactions as a business’s ESG credentials influence investment and capital allocation decisions.

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Green finance: ASEAN & UK perspectives

Insight gathered from interviews with experts across a range of disciplines in ASEAN and the UK, on the role that finance can play in addressing the risks associated with climate change.

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Policy performance bonds are a climate action “game changer”

A financial instruments expert has urged the UK government to issue bonds linked to its climate targets as a means to show commitment to its sustainability objectives, as their use across the corporate sector continues to ramp up.

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Greenwashing: rising regulatory temperature for financial services

In advance of COP26, Financial Services Faculty Board member Nikesh Pandit, Barrister at 4-5 Gray’s Inn Square, and Alessia de Quincey, Solicitor Advocate at Boies Schiller Flexner LLP, explore the financial services regulators’ increasing focus on greenwashing, and how they might use their existing powers to prevent it.

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Green finance roadmap sets out government’s sustainability expectations

HM Treasury has published its roadmap for the transition to a greener financial system. Importantly for the accountancy profession, it sets out plans for implementing sustainability disclosures.

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Connecting sustainability and finance

Accountants must take the lead on joining the dots between sustainability and finance information, performance and disclosures.

Nature-related reporting: global TNFD early adopters announced

At the World Economic Forum in Davos, 320 organisations from more than 46 countries were unveiled as ‘early adopters’ of the TNFD’s recommendations for nature-related disclosures.

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ISSB issues first sustainability disclosure standards

Corporate reporting has taken a major step forward today as the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) published two IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards which aim to boost transparency in ESG information published by companies.

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Climate-related reporting: sharing reflections on the 2021/22 reporting season

Premium listed entities are reporting on climate-related matters in their narrative reports, but often for the first time in the 2021/2022 reporting season. For other listed and smaller entities, the level of existing climate-related disclosure varies. But whether it be under new legislation or market-driven demands, almost all reporting entities are likely to be required to report on climate-related matters before long.

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FRC launches best-practice guide for managing ESG data

Guidance provides corporates with adaptable model for thinking about how to optimise the ways they collect and utilise data on ESG themes.

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Improvement needed for reporting under new climate rules

Separate reports from the FRC and FCA indicate that premium listed companies have made significant progress in the quality of climate-related reporting, but more needs to be done.

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Paris-aligned accounts

The Paris Agreement aims to achieve net zero emissions globally by 2050. Reaching these goals will require action from all. ICAEW explores how accountants in business and practice can align corporate reporting to the Paris Agreement objectives.

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ESG assurance

The expectations of financial services organisations and other corporates are changing fast. Profit cannot be the only measure of success – environmental, social and governance principles need to be observed and taken into consideration to satisfy a broad range of stakeholders.

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Financials remain woefully short on climate information

Barbara Davidson, Senior Analyst – Regulatory and Accounting at the Carbon Tracker Initiative says that without an understanding of the impact of energy transition on company financials, the extent of capital at risk – and whether funds are being allocated to unsustainable businesses – remains largely unknown.

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Climate change is paramount for annual reporting

Climate change and energy transition is the biggest challenge the world is facing. It is paramount for Shell and front of mind when developing its annual report and financial statements, says Edwin Kunkels, Vice President Group Reporting and Deputy Controller at the company.

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Sustainability reporting: why should SMEs care?

Call it the pandemic effect, but the penny is finally dropping that environmental and social reporting is becoming the responsibility of all practitioners and companies – not just large complex organisations and their advisers. Johan Barros, EU Policy Manager at Accountancy Europe, explains.

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How to reflect climate risks in the financial statements

As the 2021 reporting season approaches, businesses increasingly face questions from investors about how their accounts reflect climate-related matters. Here’s how businesses, audit committees and auditors can address them.

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