Sustainability disclosure has been a core pillar of sustainable finance regulation, especially in Europe. The theory that “what gets measured gets done” has encouraged regulators dramatically to expand sustainability disclosures ranging from relatively straightforward disclosures about historic sustainability KPIs to forward-looking disclosures relating to transition plans or green taxonomies.
This project will review the impact of mandatory climate disclosures in the UK, ranging from Scope 1 emissions disclosures, through TCFD disclosures and transition plans, through to the imminent adoption of ISSB. Through a mixture of academic literature review, stakeholder interviews and surveys we will seek to:
- Assess how companies and investors respond to different types of mandatory climate disclosures and how they change their actions as a result.
- Assess the extent to which, as a consequence, such disclosures lead to real world change in sustainability outcomes.
- Evaluate the costs and benefits of different disclosure initiatives and seek to draw lessons about the disclosure approaches that are most effective and the appropriate future focus for regulators.
This project is jointly funded by the Responsible Investing Initiative and the Global School of Sustainability.
For further information contact Dr Simon Witney s.r.witney@lse.ac.uk
