The REP Wrap: Australia and Malaysia consult on climate disclosure rules
Your weekly summary of corporate sustainability news.
The Australian Treasury has launched a consultation on upcoming corporate disclosure requirements for climate-related risks and opportunities. The new exposure draft, which is out for feedback until February 9th, seeks to update the country’s Corporations Act to introduce mandatory reporting requirements for large businesses. Expected to be introduced in July 2024, the law will require Scope 1 and 2 emissions disclosures in its first year, but companies will be given an extra year for Scope 3, which the proposals suggest should include information that is available “without undue cost or effort”. Financial institutions will also be in scope of the rules.
The World Economic Forum has warned of a “dissonance in perceptions of urgency” between decision-makers in the private sector, and regulators and civil society. In its 2024 annual Global Risk Report, nearly 1,500 experts from across business, government, civil society and academia, identified their most pressing risks. Overall, the private sector saw critical changes to Earth systems and biodiversity loss/ecosystem collapse as longer-term issues, while third-sector respondents prioritised them over shorter time frames. The misalignment, WEF suggested, “implies sub-optimal alignment and decision-making, heightening the risk of missing key moments of intervention, which would result in long-term changes to planetary systems”.
The Canadian Coalition for Good Governance has published best practice guidelines for virtual shareholder meetings. The report urges company to take a number of steps to maximise the ability and likelihood of investors being able to attend and engage during meetings, including hybrid formats (a mix of in-person and online meetings), voting technology and clear joining instructions. The guidelines come as virtual meetings surge, accelerated by restrictions on in-person events during the global pandemic. Some companies have been accused of exploiting the trend to make it harder for shareholders be represented or heard during the meetings.
Fashion giants including Barbour and PVH, which owns Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger, have agreed to pay workers in Mauritius the equivalent of £400,000 after an NGO found that migrant workers had been forced to fork out thousands of pounds in fees to secure jobs – breaching modern slavery guidelines. The fashion brands do not operate the factories.
The Greenhouse Gas Protocol has appointed corporate governance and reporting specialist Dr. Alexander Bassen to chair its new governance body. The Independent Standards Board will oversee updates to the Protocol’s Corporate Standard, Scope 2 Guidance, and Scope 3 Standard. Bassen, a professor of Capital Markets and Management of the Faculty of Business, Economics and Social Sciences at the University of Hamburg, is also a member of the EU’s EFRAG Sustainability Reporting Board. The Independent Standards Board will report to a new steering committee within the GHG Protocol and work closely with its secretariat, hosted by the World Resources Institute and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development.
The Malaysian Advisory Committee on Sustainability Reporting has said it will consult on plans to adopt the ISSB’s disclosure standards in February. A six-week window will be opened to all stakeholders wishing to give their feedback on how the rules are implemented, including timing and requirements around auditing and assurance.