Environment
COP 26 Aftermath a call to business action At Ensure Environmental Consulting Ltd, we are helping clients move through the maze of the Energy Transition and development of truly sustainable business. So now COP26 has ended, the hard work starts to deliver change and a legacy from the UK’s presidency. We need to convert the ‘Blah, Blah, Blah’ into action. What we know is that Climate Change is already affecting our weather patterns and that the global response is going to influence how we do business going forward, whatever size of business we operate. For those of us in the South-East, there are a number of initiatives and changes in the pipeline that need to be considered and some are identified below:
UK Net Zero Strategy and Heat and Buildings Strategy The UK Government recently published its full Net Zero Strategy and Heat and Buildings Strategy. The Net Zero 2050 master plan was underpinned by billions of pounds to support green innovation and decarbonisation across the power, transport and heat sectors. This presents real opportunities for decarbonisation. Locally this includes development of commercial scale heat recovery from the
old Kent Coalfields and projects such as the UK’s biggest river water heat exchanger on the Medway, the development of new Green Waste and Biomass Recovery systems near Dartford and ground source heat exchangers for rural properties currently heated by oil. When combined, these decarbonisation opportunities give the County the potential to lead the push for a more sustainable future.
Finance Sector Commitments The IFRS Foundation announced the consolidation of The Climate Disclosure Standards Board (CDSB) and the Value Reporting Foundation (VRF) by June 2022, to create a new International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB). This will create one comprehensive global baseline of high-quality disclosure standards to meet investors information needs. In addition, they also published prototype climate and general disclosure requirements. The adoption of the ISSB will help streamline this process compared to the existing situation with many competing standards, as implementation of Reporting Standards is becoming mainstream. At Ensure we are already looking at the changes this brings to how clients will report to meet Investor requirements.
The UK to be the Worlds First Net Zero Financial Centre In parallel with the ISSB announcement, the UK Chancellor announced plans to make the UK’s financial centre aligned to net-zero. Under the proposals, there will be requirements for UK financial institutions and listed companies to publish net-zero transition plans detailing how they will adapt and decarbonise towards a netzero economy by 2050. At Ensure, we are already seeing Clients pushing forward with ESG and TCFD/ISSB aligned reporting, but increasingly we find that Lenders and Investors are seeking real and demonstrable movement towards net zero by smaller companies. This pressure is cascading down supply chains in all sectors, as financial institutions will only fund or invest in companies and projects that demonstrate a Sustainable outcome.
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If you require further information, please contact: Henry Lang Director • 07772 096744 • Ensure Environmental Consulting Ltd Henry.lang@ensureenvironmental.co.uk • info@ensureenvironmental.co.uk • www.ensureenvironmental.co.uk
