The Disclosure Digest: edie launches top tips on aligning sustainability with investor needs

The report is based on a co-creation roundtable of sustainability leaders and investor representatives 

This report is based on a session of discussions and co-creation hosted in association with edie’s 2020 Sustainability Leaders Forum. The half-day event took place on 3 February in London and saw sustainability managers from a wide range of businesses take part in collaborative roundtables. During the discussions, sustainability managers outlined key challenges and discussed the exciting new opportunities in the areas that mattered the most. It has today (7 May) been released to a wider audience for the first time as part of edie’s ENGAGE week.

—DOWNLOAD THE DISCLOSURE DIGEST HERE—

The recent surge of interest from the investment community in environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors shows no signs of abating. As investors spur demand for more climate-related data, the sustainability professionals have a long-awaited chance to bridge the sustainable finance gap. This throws up challenges and opportunities.

From understanding climate-related financial impacts and establishing the ESG factors that are material for your business; through to gathering and presenting data in a way that meets investor needs, sustainability professionals must be equipped with new skills and advice to succinctly engage with investors to assist with the global low-carbon transition.

As such, edie hosted a bespoke session of roundtable discussions ahead of the 2020 Sustainability Leader Forum. The roundtables aimed to outline the major barriers and challenges to engaging with investors, and outlined some of the quick wins to improving this increasingly important relationship.

This report also features an in-depth summary of “why financial materiality can be the sustainability professionals ‘best friend’ ” authored by Richard Howitt, strategic advisor on corporate responsibility and sustainability, business and human rights, and former chief executive of the International Integrated Reporting Council, who chaired and moderated the event.

Click here to download The disclosure digest – Five steps to align sustainability with investor needs.

edie staff