The REP Wrap: Canada launches climate disclosure rules
Your weekly summary of corporate sustainability news.
The Canadian Sustainability Standards Board has unveiled draft standards that mirror those published by the International Sustainability Standards Board. CSDS 1 and 2 are “Canadian-specific” versions of ISSB’s two standards. The standards are now out for consultation and, if approved, will capture reporting periods from January 2025, with Scope 3 disclosures required two years later.
EU lawmakers finally signed off on the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive on Friday. After weeks of delays and last-minute political renegotiations, members of European Council approved a new version of the law, reducing its scope and extending its timeline. Now the directive will apply to companies with more than 1,000 employees instead of 500, and it will be phased in more slowly. The obligation to link executive pay with climate strategy was also dropped, along with a commitment to review how the rules applied to financial institutions. The latest text now needs to make it through a vote at European Parliament next month.
This week the EU moved forward on two other key laws relating to corporate sustainability. European Parliament formalised its negotiating position for the Green Claims Directive, and will push for stricter rules on how carbon offsets can be used when companies make environmental claims, among other things. The Forced Labour Regulation, which would introduce a requirement for the EU to investigate (and potentially ban) products thought to have been made using forced labour, was given the green light by European Council on Wednesday. The final text still needs to be adopted by Parliament.
Shell has reviewed its 2021 energy transition plan for the first time, lowering its target for reducing the emissions intensity of its products by the end of the decade, and ditching the 2035 target altogether. The oil major said it would instead cut the absolute emissions from its oil products by at least 15% by 2030, compared with 2021, and retains its pledge to halve the emissions of its direct operations over the same period. It will continue to grow its gas business.
The number of “material and credible” national policy announcements around nature, land and food doubled over the last 12 months, compared with the previous year. That’s according to the latest research from Inevitable Policy Response, an initiative run by Theia Finance Labs, Energy Transition Advisors and Deloitte. “The analysis shows over 90% of nature-related policy developments tracked in the last year are in line with a pathway to a well below 2°C temperature outcome,” said IPR.
The Climate Governance Initiative has launched a free course to help board directors understand climate risk and opportunity in their business. The non-profit, which is working with the University of Cambridge, will run the course online and claims it can be completed in 30 minutes.