DIVERSITY & INCLUSION

FCA proposes gender and ethnicity targets for boardrooms

Britain’s financial watchdog, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has proposed a range of diversity targets and disclosure requirements for UK listed companies. Among proposals are that at least 40% of company boards should consist of women, including those who self-identify as a woman. In addition, companies should have at least one woman holding the senior board positions of chair, CEO, senior independent director or chief financial officer, and at least one member of a company’s board should be from a non-White ethnic minority background. The FCA wants listed companies to publicly disclose whether they are meeting specific board diversity targets in their annual financial statements. If not, companies would have to explain why they had failed to meet these goals, also known as a “comply or explain” requirement. (CNBC)

POLICY

US firms may have to disclose emissions by partners & suppliers

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) may require publicly traded companies to report on greenhouse gas emissions by suppliers and partners, as part of an expected climate risk disclosure rule. The rule will likely include qualitative questions such as how the company's leadership manages climate-related risks and opportunities and how these factors feed into the company’s strategy, as well as quantitative metrics related to greenhouse gas emissions, financial impacts of climate change, and progress towards climate-related goals. The SEC may require certain metrics specially for certain industries, and could require certain companies to explain how they might adapt to a range of climate change scenarios. The agency is also considering requiring companies to disclose the greenhouse gas emissions of other companies in their value chain, like suppliers and partners. (Reuters)

STRATEGY 

Dairy giants and UN to plot global course to net-zero by 2050

Businesses, research hubs and other organisations within the livestock and dairy sectors are supporting a new UN-backed initiative plotting a course to net-zero emissions. The new initiative, called ‘Pathways to Dairy Net-Zero’, is convening businesses, NGOs, researchers, scientists and academia in the joint development of a new roadmap to net-zero by 2050 at the latest, to be adopted globally in the dairy and livestock sectors. The organisers are exploring a reduction in methane emissions of 24-27% by 2050 and a reduction in nitrous oxide emissions by 26% within the same timeframe. They believe it may be possible for the sector to reduce CO2 emissions by up to 40% through productivity and resource efficiency. The initiative believe action in areas, such as nature restoration and decarbonising equipment, could also drive progress. (Edie)

CLIMATE CHANGE

Climate change is setting new records in the UK and globally

A study tracking the planet’s vital signs has found many key indicators of the global climate crisis are worsening and approaching, or exceeding, key tipping points. According to the study, 16 out of 31 tracked planetary vital signs, including greenhouse gas concentrations, ocean heat content and ice mass, set worrying new records. In related news, the UK Met Office’s 2020 State of the UK Climate analysis shows that the last 30-year period (1991-2020) has been 0.9°C warmer than the preceding 30 years (1961-1990), across all months and all UK countries. The UK has been on average 6% wetter over the last 30 years than the preceding 30 years. Additionally, 2020 was the first year to have rankings for temperature, rain and sunshine all in the top 10 years on record. (The Guardian; Met Office)

BIODIVERSITY

Ninety nature-based projects win £40m UK government funding

Ninety nature-based projects will receive a £40 million share of the UK Government's  Green Recovery Challenge Fund, designed to promote nature restoration and conservation. The projects will be  across the UK and over 600 sites will benefit from the fund. Some of the awarded projects include Urban Green Newcastle and Northumberland Wildlife Trust creating a network of 45 nectar-rich public sites, aiming to plant 2,500 trees, 25,000 bulbs and creating 18 hectares of grassland. The Trees for Cities initiative has been awarded £1.2 million to plant up to 55,000 trees across coastal locations to increase tree cover in urban areas, while the Somerset Wildlife Trust, in partnership with RSPB, has been awarded more than £900,000 for a project to improve wetland habitats, water quality and hydrological connectivity in nature reserves. (Edie)