Decarbonization & Climate Transition Plans

For most companies, building effective decarbonization plans doesn’t happen just inside the four walls of your business - it needs to occur outside as well, involving both suppliers and customers with whom the company shares goals.

Investors are doing their own research to evaluate company decarbonization plans - this research starts with the data, but also requires building the trust they need to meet their own fiduciary duty.

Future of Emissions Measurement

Standard-setters have always played an important role in the financial markets (the NYSE began building standards in 1792, for example), and increasingly so in the sustainability world as well. However, standards built for internal evaluations are now finding their way into international regulation. The GHG Protocol has multiple consultations underway to help its standards evolve, and is open to further dialogue with companies to make sure any updates are both credible and feasible.

The March of Regulation

We’re moving from a voluntary disclosure regime to what’s increasingly becoming a mandatory one, across many parts of the globe. Our panelists pointed out that there’s a greater chance of balkanization as regulators adopt differing standards across the globe. Companies can continue to tell their stories through both required or voluntary channels, but it is incumbent on both issuers and investors to keep showing up and to be in the right rooms as the standards for communications between the two are being built.

Board Oversight and Engagement on Sustainability Issues

As sustainability disclosures move from voluntary to mandatory, and wind up in regulatory reporting, we’ll see additional need for board members to take oversight responsibility and know the right questions to ask. Effective oversight will look different across sectors, market cap sizes, and businesses, but educating the board to produce this oversight may increasingly involve bringing in outside experts as well as having the board engage with different levels inside the business.

Future of Renewable Energy Procurement

Every company’s needs and footprint for clean energy is different; there are products such as Renewable Energy Certificates, Guarantees of Origin, Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs), and Virtual PPAs that each offer different profiles to help companies access clean energy and renewables. However, the dynamics of each market and grid, as well as the status of government subsidies, can vary widely, and the time commitments for certain products (up to 15 years for some PPA contracts) mean companies should do their homework to match not just today’s, but tomorrow’s, needs using the most appropriate strategy.

Changing the Rules of the Game in Carbon Markets

Interactive Session: Sustainability Programs that Hit the Bottom Line

Research by Bain, ICE, and We Mean Business Coalition shows that the two key barriers to companies entering carbon markets are a) the lack of recognition by global standard-setters, and b) the unclear rules on making claims and associated risk. Advocacy and improved collaboration among standard-setters should help overcome these issues. Transparency in carbon markets should begin to include clearer price signals in both the primary and secondary markets that will allow companies to make more informed decisions.