Getting Ready for New Global, National, & State Climate Disclosure Rules
Moderator: Ross Zelen, Principal Consultant, CA Joint Legislative Committee on Climate Change Policies
Panel: Mike Wallace, Chief Decarbonization Officer, Persefoni
Marca Hagenstad, Principal, Stantec
Michele Demers, CEO and Founder, Boundless Impact Research and Analytics
Corporate climate disclosure is the practice of tracking and managing all of the emissions that are included in running the corporation, as well as reporting the potential climate-related risks to the business model and corporation’s supply chain. Sometimes discussed within ESG conversations, climate disclosure has moved into the spotlight over the past year thanks to big actions taken around the globe and here in California. Last fall, Governor Newsom signed two laws requiring the world’s largest businesses to publicly disclose their carbon emissions and climate-related financial risks. Notably, California is requiring covered entities to report their Scope 3 emissions. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has also weighed in. Both the California and SEC regulations are in litigation, with different approaches. The European Union has adopted the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, and dozens of other countries have adopted reporting requirements. What is the latest status of these regulatory requirements? Are they working together, or competing against each other? How can companies of all sizes best prepare to track and understand their carbon footprints? How are investors responding to these patchwork of regulations? Will there be a global passport for reporting and transparency?