ESG

A new report from EY reveals a troubling disconnect between corporate climate action and the urgent need to combat climate change. The 2024 EY Global Climate Action Barometer found that while the quality and coverage of climate-related disclosures have improved, the pace of corporate action is still not sufficient to avoid the looming climate crisis. As global temperatures soar, companies worldwide continue to fall short of the necessary targets outlined in the 2015 Paris Agreement.

The International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) has taken a major step toward bringing clarity and consistency to sustainability reporting with its new International Standard on Sustainability Assurance 5000 (ISSA 5000). This new standard aims to raise the bar for ESG (environmental, social, and governance) data assurance, giving investors and regulators more confidence that what they see in sustainability reports reflects reality.

A federal judge in California has recently given the green light for the state’s sweeping carbon disclosure mandates to proceed, at least for now. U.S. District Judge Otis Wright II’s decision keeps California’s new climate disclosure laws on track, though he left the door open for future challenges. Wright’s ruling sidestepped a definitive answer on whether the laws violate companies’ First Amendment rights by forcing them to disclose emissions and climate risks, instead calling for more information to fully assess these questions.

Allianz Trade announced last week the launch of Surety Green2Green, a new solution aimed at accelerating the transition to sustainability within the global economy. Allianz Trade, an international insurance provider and subsidiary of Allianz SE, offers a range of services, including trade credit insurance, debt collection, surety bonds, business fraud insurance, and political risk protection. Allianz SE, headquartered in Germany, is one of the world’s largest financial services providers and the largest insurer in Europe. Allianz Trade’s mission is to empower clients to trade with confidence by ensuring payment security and providing protection against bad debt.

The European Banking Authority (EBA) has just dropped a comprehensive look into how financial firms are handling Principal Adverse Impact (PAI) disclosures under the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR). This 2024 report shows progress on some fronts but also highlights areas where firms are falling short on compliance and best practices. For risk and compliance pros, this report sheds light on what firms are up against in meeting sustainability reporting standards and offers practical insights into how compliance frameworks are shifting to keep up with rising regulatory demands.

As the call for transparency in environmental, social, and governance (ESG) practices intensifies, a recent survey by Ernst & Young (EY) uncovers a troubling reality: both investors and finance leaders are increasingly skeptical about the credibility of nonfinancial reporting. This growing skepticism, exacerbated by perceptions of greenwashing and inconsistent data, highlights the critical role that ESG and governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) professionals must play in elevating reporting standards.

In a world where sustainability is no longer just a buzzword, asset managers find themselves facing complex, often thorny challenges around environmental, social, and governance (ESG) data. The Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM) recently put this into focus with an in-depth study, pulling back the curtain on the hurdles asset managers face in risk management and compliance tied to ESG.