TCFD报告的萌芽 - 对首批根据《上市规则》进行报告的50家公司的分析

ThegreenshootsofTCFDreporting

Ananalysisofthefirst50companiestoreportundertheListingRules

May2022

PWC

Contents

1Introduction

2Ourfindings

strikingtherightbalance

2.1Risksandresponses–

the‘F’inTCFD

2.2Financialimpact–

statementofconsistency

2.3ListingRulesreporting–

withtheTCFDframework

3Lookingahead

Introduction

82%

ofinvestorsbelievethat

companiesshouldembedESGdirectlyintotheir

corporatestrategy

Thisisasignificantmomentinclimate-relatedreporting.Althoughalreadywidelyusedonavoluntarybasis,theUKisthefirstmajoreconomyto

mandateclimate-relateddisclosuresinlinewiththeTaskforceon

Climate-relatedFinancialDisclosures(‘TCFD’)framework,whichcame

intoeffectforpremiumlistedcompaniesfrom1January2021.ExposureDraftsofthefirststandardsonclimateandsustainabilityreportingfromtheInternationalSustainabilityStandardsBoard(ISSB)havealsobeen

recentlypublished,withtheaimofestablishingamoreconsistentand

formaloverallframeworkforreportingintheseareas.Therigourrequiredincompanies’disclosuresissettoincrease,makingthenewTCFD

79%

ofinvestorsagreethathowacompanymanagesESGrisksandopportunitiesisan

importantfactorininvestmentdecisionmaking

reportingnotonlyanimportantmilestone,butalsoatestcaseforthechallengesthatlieahead.

Investorsandotherstakeholdersarealsomakingtheirrisingexpectations

clear.

PwC’sglobalinvestorsurvey

showedthatinvestorswantcompaniesto:

•FocusontheESGissuesthataremostimportanttotheirbusiness–79%ofinvestorsagreethathowacompanymanagesESGrisksand

opportunitiesisanimportantfactorininvestmentdecisionmaking.

•ShowhowESGfactorsaffecttheirbusinessmodel(84%),howESGis

embeddeddirectlyintotheircorestrategy(82%)andshowalinkbetweenESGrisksandopportunitiesandfinancialperformance(75%).

ThisreportsetsoutPwC’sinitialfindingsfollowingareviewofthefirst50disclosuresbyFTSE350companiesunderthenewListingRulesrequirementtoreportagainstthe‘TCFD’framework.

ThegreenshootsofTCFDreporting1

Keyhighlights

ESGreportingwasalreadyagrowingpartofFTSE350reportingintheUKand,withthenewTCFDdisclosures,ourresearchshowsthatESGinformation–includingclimatechangedisclosures–nowconstitutesaround30%ofthelengthoftheaveragestrategicreport(upfrom20%lastyear).78%ofcompanieswereviewednow

specificallymention‘climatechange’intheirfinancialstatements–asignificantincreaseonthe22%oftheFTSE350weobservedlastyear.

Companiesarerespondinginsignificantwaystothepressurethatisbeingexertedbyinvestors,regulatorsandotherstakeholders.Butwefoundthatmanycandoabetterjobofspellingoutthekeymessagesincritical

areasoftheTCFDframework.Inparticular:

Risksandresponses–Many

companiescouldbeclearerabouttheirassessmentofthemost

importantclimate-relatedrisksandopportunitiesfortheirbusiness,andhowtheyarerespondingtothem.

Climatechangeaffectscompaniesindifferentways,overdifferenttimeperiodsandtodifferentextents,

andtheTCFDframework

recognisesthatonesizedoesnotfitallwhenitcomestoreporting.Theassessmentofrisksand

8%

ofcompaniesquantifytheestimatedfinancialimpactofclimaterisksintheir

strategicreport

opportunitiesshoulddriveclimate-relateddisclosuresbuttoooftentheconnectionsarenotbeingmade.

Financialimpact–Most

companiescouldprovidebetter

informationabouttheirestimatesoftheactualorpotentialfinancial

impactsofclimatechange.Thereislittleornoquantificationoftheissueinmanyreports,especially

consideringthatthefinancial

disclosuresaresofundamentaltotheTCFDframework.Andwhen

financialinformationisgiveninthefinancialstatementsitisoftena

briefstatementthatclimatechangeis‘notmaterial’.

ListingRulesrequirements–WealsolookedathowcompaniesaredealingwiththenewListingRulesrequirementtoreportontheextenttowhichdisclosuresareconsistentwiththeTCFDframework.Wefoundarangeofapproachestothis,withsomeincludingaseparate

‘consistencystatement’whileothersintegratetheinformationwithinthe

TCFDdisclosuresthemselves.

Whatevertheapproach,many

companiesneedtobeclearerontheareaswheretheyareorarenotyet

50%

ofcompaniesacknowledgeintheirreportingthattheyhavemoreworktodoontheirTCFDdisclosuresinfutureperiods

consistentwiththeframework,whichcaninvolveconsiderablejudgement.

28%

ofcompanieslinktheirmetricsandtargetswithclimate-relatedrisksandopportunities

TheFCAListingRulestoreportagainsttheTCFDframework,onabroadly‘comply-or-explain’basis,wasalwaysgoingtobechallenging,giventhattheTCFDframeworkwasnotdesignedasasetofcompliancecriteriaandrelies,for

instance,onsignificantjudgementandsupportingguidance.Asmarketpracticedevelopswehopethatthe

observationsinthisdocumentwillhelpcompaniestogetmorefromtheTCFDframework,andatthesametimecomplywiththetechnicalrequirements,whileprovidingshareholdersandotherstakeholderswiththeinformationtheyneed.

2ThegreenshootsofTCFDreporting

Our

findings

Risksandresponses–strikingtherightbalance

Climatechangeaffectscompaniesindifferentwaysandtodifferentextents,andtheTCFDframeworkrecognisesthatonesizedoesnotfitallwhenit

comestoreporting.

Companiesneedtotakea

proportionateapproachtoreporting,dependingontheimpactclimate

changewillhaveontheirbusiness.

Investors,amongotherstakeholders,haveunderstandablyfocusedoncompaniesinsectorsidentifiedbytheTCFDas

‘high-impact’1forclimatechange.Suchbusinessesmaybeexpectedtobewellprogressedintheirapproachto

managingclimatechangeandthereforewouldbeexpectedtobeinarelativelystrongpositiontoreportonit.

Climatechangeismorelikelytobe

seenasastrategicmatter–aprincipalriskoropportunity–andfinancially

materialforthesebusinesses.TCFD

disclosuresareexpectedtoreflectthis.

There’salsoalargegroupof

businessesthatdonotfitwithin

high-impactsectors,anditcanbe

morechallengingforthemtotakea

proportionateapproachtodisclosure.

Ononehand,theywanttoshowthey’recommittedtoplayingtheirpartin

tacklingclimatechange,butonthe

other,theydon’twanttoimplytherisksoropportunitiesareexpectedtobe

strategicallymaterial.

Asaresult,we’veseenthese

businessesoftendeveloplengthy

disclosuresthatlooksimilartothoseofa‘highimpact’business,without

explanationofhowandwhytheissueisimportanttothem.Thisdoesnot

necessarilymeanthatthedisclosuresaregreenwashing.Theactionsbeingtakencanbemakingagenuine

contribution–it’sjustthereasonfor

makingthemisnotsufficientlyclear.It’simportantthatthedisclosuresareclear,becauseacompany’sassessmentofitsrisksandopportunitiesdeterminesitsapproachtotherestoftheTCFD

framework.

1Banking,Insurance,Energy,MaterialsandBuildings,Transportation,Agriculture,FoodandForestProducts,TechnologyandMedia,ConsumerGoods

4ThegreenshootsofTCFDreporting

Risksandopportunities:businessassessment

Whathaveweseensofar?

Alackofconsistencyacrossthereporting

•Whileonly4%reportwhether

climatechangeismaterialintheir

financialstatements,86%list

climatechangeasaprincipalriskorembeditintoexistingprincipalrisks.Anumberofcompaniesalsopublishsubstantialclimateorsustainabilityreportsseparately,whichimplies

thattherearesignificantrisksoropportunitiestobemanaged.Weencouragecompaniestobeclearabouthowtheirapproachandtherelatedjudgementsareconsistentacrossthevariousdisclosures.

Littlefocusontheprocesses

usedtoassessandmanagerisks(andopportunities)

•Only32%ofcompaniesprovideadetaileddisclosureoftherisk

assessmentprocesscarriedout,

andfewdetailtheoutcomes.

Disclosurescanthereforeappear

unclearaboutthematerialrisksandopportunitiestothecompany,therelatedtimeframesandhowclimatechangecouldimpactthebusinessmodel,strategyandfinancial

planning.

Disclosuresnotdrivenbytheassessmentofrisksand

opportunities

•Bystructuringreportingunderthe

fourpillarsoftheTCFDframework,companiesoftenmissthe

opportunitytobuildacoherentstoryacrosseachpillar,withonly28%

clearlylinkingrisksand

opportunitieswithmetricsand

targets.Thebestdisclosuresstartwiththeassessmentofrisksand

opportunitiesandrelatetherest

(includinganyscenarioanalysisandmetricsandtargets)backtothis.

86%

Listclimatechangeasaprincipalriskorembeditinto

existingprincipalrisks

4%

Statewhetherclimatechangeismaterialin

theirfinancialstatements

32%

Providea

detailed

disclosureoftheriskassessment

process

carriedout

28%

Clearlylinkrisksand

opportunities

withmetricsandtargets

Keytakeaway:Aproportionateapproachtoreporting–onethatisbasedonasolid

understandingoftherisksandopportunitiesclimatechangeposesandthesubsequent

judgementsmade–willenablecompaniestotellaclearandconsistentstorytostakeholders.

ThegreenshootsofTCFDreporting5

Risksandopportunities:businessresponse

Whathaveweseensofar?

Risksandopportunitiesneedtobeclearfirst

•Thelackofclarityaroundrisksandopportunitiesnotedintheprevioussectionmakesitdifficultfor

businessestoarticulatetheir

responsestotheclimate-relatedrisksidentified.

Lackofclarityonthenatureoftheresponses

•Almosteveryreportreferstoa

‘transitionplan’,whichshould

explainthestrategyforreachingthecompany’sclimategoal.Howeverthemajorityfocusinsteadon

outliningtargetstoreduceemissions.

•Whilesomeoftheseplansaddressastrategicriskoropportunity,

othersdon’t.There’saclear

opportunityhereforcompaniestodemonstratehowtheremaining

strategicrisksandopportunitiesarebeingaddressed.

•Manyclimate-relatedtargetsareforthemediumtolong-term,yetonly56%ofcompaniesdiscloseinterimmilestones.

Defaultingtoemissionsformetricsandtargets

•Manycompaniesexpresstheir

climate-relatedmetricsandtargetsintermsofemissionsonly.Where

thereareotherstrategically

significantunderlyingdrivers,

companiesshouldconsider

reportingonthesetoo.Forexample,thepercentageofrawmaterials

sourcedfromwaterstressedregionswillbekeytomanagingclimate

change.Thiswillalsohelptoshowhowthemetricsandtargetsaddressanystrategicrisksand

opportunities.

Keytakeaway:Once

companieshavereportedontheirrelevantrisksandopportunities,theyneedtoarticulatethenatureand

purposeoftheirresponses.Theseshouldalsoreflect

theappropriatetimescales.

56%

Disclose

milestones/interimtargetsfortheir

emission

commitments

38%

Setoutspecifictimingsfortheirtransitionplan

34%

Giveaclearplanand/orresponsetophysicalandtransitionalrisksidentified

6ThegreenshootsofTCFDreporting

Financialimpact–the‘F’inTCFD

Thefinancialimpactofclimatechangeonbusinessesisatthecoreofthe

TCFDframework,asemphasisedby

the

TCFDGuidance

onlinkingclimatemetricstofinancialdisclosures.Whilerecognisingthatthesedisclosureswillcontinuetoevolve,forthecompanieswereviewed,relativelyfewdisclosuresincludequantifiedfinancialinformation.

Wherefinancialinformationisdisclosedinthefronthalfoftheannualreport,itisofteninthecontextofscenario

testing,althoughthereisoftenalackofclarityabouttherelevancetothe

financialstatements.

Whereclimate-relatedfinancial

informationisgiveninthefinancial

statements,itisoftenabriefstatementthatclimatechangeis‘notmaterial’

withlittlecommentarytoexplainhowthisconclusionhasbeenreached.

Whereclimatechangeismentionedinthefinancialstatements,itistypicallyincludedintheaccountingpolicy

notesandimpairmentreviews.

Ourobservationsandrecommendationsbelowtacklethiskeycomponentof

reportingagainsttheTCFDframeworkinmoredetail.

We’vefoundthatwhilemanycompaniesprovideextensiveclimate-related

disclosuresinthefronthalf,their

conclusionsastowhytheissueis‘notmaterial’forthefinancialstatementscouldbemadeclearer.

Itisimportantthatcompaniesmakethesejudgementsonaconsistentbasisastheydevelopcashflow

forecasts,whetherforTCFDreportingorthefinancialstatements.For

instance,acompanymayconclude

thatclimatechangeisnotexpected

tocauseamaterialimpairment

chargeevenifthecashflowforecaststhatwereusedfortheimpairmenttestincludedcapitalexpendituresand

operatingcostsrelatedtoaddressingclimaterisk.Thisinformationmight

itselfbeusefultousersofthe

accountsbutwouldrarelybe

disclosedbecauseitdidnotresultinanimpairmentcharge.Equally,

climatechangemightbeexpectedtobequantitativelymaterialandaffectthefinancialstatementsinthefuture,butbecauseofthetimehorizonor

severityitmaynothaveaneffectonthecurrentperiod’sbalancesheet.

Thematerialitychallenge

Informationismaterialifomitting,misstatingor

obscuringitcouldreasonablybeexpectedto

influencethedecisionsthattheprimaryusersofgeneralpurposefinancialstatementsmakeonthebasisofthosefinancialstatements…

IAS1–PresentationofFinancialStatements

ThegreenshootsofTCFDreporting7

Reportingthe‘F’inTCFD

78%

Mention‘climatechange’intheirfinancial

statements

8%

Quantifyphysicalandtransitionalrisksintheir

strategicreport

26%

Ofthecompanies

whomention‘climatechange’intheir

financialstatementshaveprovided

detaileddisclosures.

10%

Ofcompaniesthat

quantifyphysicaland

transitionalriskintheirCDPsubmissions

reflectthemfullyintheirannualreport.

Whathaveweseensofar?

Brief,high-leveldisclosures

While78%ofcompaniesreferto

climatechangeintheirfinancial

statements,thedisclosuresareoftenbriefandhighlevel.Thisinformationcanoftenbefoundintheaccountingpoliciesnote,withbriefreferencesinothernotes.Climatechangeis

particularlyrelevanttoimpairment

reviews,particularlyinsomesectors,

althoughlittleinformationisprovidedabouttheassumptionsusedrelatedtoclimaterisk.

Interpretationofmaterialfinancialimpact

•WheretherearefinancialdisclosuresintheTCFDreporting,theytendtofocusonthematerialityofclimate

changetothecurrentbalancesheet.However,theTCFDframeworkis

clearthatcompaniesshouldalsoconsiderthepotentialimpactof

climate-relatedissuesonfuture

financialperformanceandposition,butthereislittledisclosureofthis.

Therelationshipbetweenthefronthalfandthefinancialstatements

•Thefronthalfoftheannualreport

oftenincludessignificantcontentonclimatechangewithlittleorno

mentionofthisinthefinancial

statements.Therecanbevalid

reasonsforthisbuttheyareoftennotprovided.

Alackofquantifiedfinancialimpactdisclosures

•Only8%ofcompanies,usuallyinhighrisksectors,quantifythe

financialimpactofphysicaland

transitionalrisks.Itispossibleto

provide‘financial’informationonaqualitativebasis,butitwilltypicallybesubstantiallylessmeaningful

thanquantifieddisclosures.

Quantifiedinformationprovidedelsewhere

•63%ofcompanieswithCDP

submissionsprovidequantified

financialinformationontheir

climate-relatedrisksand

opportunities.This,however,isnotusuallyreflectedinthefinancial

statements–withonly10%explaininghowthetworelate.

Keytakeaway:Whereitisnecessary,basedontheassessmentofrisksandopportunities,

companieswilloftenneedtoprovidemorequantifiedfinancialinformationontheimpactsof

climatechangeinthefronthalfnarrativeoffuturereportstomeettheexpectationsoftheTCFDframeworkinfull.Carefulconsiderationwillthereforeneedtobegiventotheconsistency,or

otherwise,betweenthefronthalfandbackhalf.

8ThegreenshootsofTCFDreporting

ListingRulesreporting–statementofconsistencywiththeTCFDframework

Inthissection,wefocusonhowtheListingRulesrequirementshavebeenaddressedfromthepointofviewoftechnicalcompliance.

Forperiodsbeginningonorafter

1January2021,premiumlisted

companieshavebeenrequiredunder

theFCAListingRulestoreportclimate-relateddisclosuresinlinewiththe

TCFDframework,onabroadly‘comply-or-explain’basis.Thiswasalwaysgoingtobechallenging,giventhattheTCFDframeworkwasnotdesignedasasetofcompliancecriteriaandrelies,for

instance,onsignificantjudgementandsupportingguidance.

Thishasresultedinarangeof

approachestothereporting

requirements.Forinstance,somehaveincludedaseparate‘consistency

statement’,whileothershaveintegratedinformationontheirstatusagainsttheframeworkwithintheTCFDdisclosuresthemselves.

Equally,judgementhashadtobe

appliedtodecidewhetheracompanyisorisnotsufficientlyprogressedinits

processesanddisclosurestoclaim

‘consistency’withtheTCFDframework.Dealingwithclimatechangewillbeanongoingprocess,meaningthat

processesanddisclosureswilloften

developandflexgoingforward.Atwhatpointdoesthismeanthatthecurrent

positionisorisnotfullyconsistentwiththeframework?

TheListingRulesalsopermit

informationtobeprovidedoutsidetheannualreport(subjecttoexplainingwhythishasbeendone)buttheCompaniesActrequiresallmaterialinformation

connectedwithclimatechangetobe

includedintheannualreportitself.Thishasgivenrisetodiscussionswithin

companiesinanumberofcasesaboutwhatdoesanddoesnotneedtobeintheannualreportwhereacompanyhasasubstantialseparateclimateor

sustainabilityreport.

Welookattheseissuesnext.Itis

likelythatpracticeinthisareawill

continuetodevelopasthefirstroundofreportingisreviewedbythe

regulatorsandotherstakeholders,

andasreportingevolvesinlightoftechnologyanddigitisation

opportunities.

ThegreenshootsofTCFDreporting9

ListingRulesreporting

68%

38%

50%

46%

Provideanexplicit

Statefull

Acknowledgein

Includeinformation

statementof

consistencywith

theirreportingthat

outsidetheannual

consistencywith

theTCFD

theyhavemore

report

theTCFD

framework

worktodoontheir

framework

TCFDdisclosuresinfutureperiods

Whathaveweseensofar?

LackofclarityonconsistencywithTCFDframework

•Itisnotalwaysimmediatelyclear

whetheracompanybelievesits

disclosuresare–orarenot–

consistentwiththeTCFD

framework.Themost

straightforwardwayforacompanytodothisistoincludeaseparate

consistencystatementthatreferstotheTCFD’selevenrecommended

disclosures,explainingwhathas

beenachievedintheyearandwherefurtherinformationwillbeprovidedintheyearstocome.Aseparate

tableorstatementdetailingthisisnotatechnicalrequirement,butprovidesaclearoverviewfor

thereader.

QualityofexplanationswhereinconsistentwiththeTCFD

framework

•Withsomeexceptions,reports

generallydonotexplaininanydetailwhythecompanyisnotyet

consistentwiththeframeworkor

whattheirfutureplansare.There

shouldbe‘full,clearandmeaningfulexplanations1’astowhycertain

disclosureshavenotbeenincluded.Companiesshouldofcoursealso

avoidgivingtheimpressionthey

havedonemorethantheyactuallyhave.Importantly,whereacompanyhasmadeajudgementbasedonitsriskassessmentthatanelementoftheTCFDframeworkisnot

appropriatetothem(forinstance

quantitativescenariotesting)thisisconsistentwiththeframeworkifitisexplained.

Useofotherreportingchannels

•ThemajorityofTCFDreportingis

includedwithintheannualreport,

almostalwaysinaspecificsectionofthestrategicreport.However,asignificantnumberofcompanies

cross-refertoaseparatereportandasmallnumberincludemostoftherelevantdisclosuresinaseparate

TCFDorsustainabilityreport.

CompaniesshouldnotethatundertheListingRulesareasonneedstobegivenfortakingthisapproach,

andthisisrarelyexplainedclearly.Asareminder,allmaterial

informationmustbeincludedintheannualreporttocomplywiththe

CompaniesAct.Thiscouldbeas

partofprincipalriskorotherrelatedreportingiftheTCFDdisclosures

areoutsidetheannualreport.

Keytakeaway:TheListingRulerequirementscallfortheexerciseofconsiderablejudgementinmanycasesandcompaniesshouldseekfeedbackontheirTCFDreportingfromregulatorsandotherstakeholdersontheapproachestakeninyearoneofthenewreporting.

1

FCAPrimaryMarketTechnicalNote802.1

10ThegreenshootsofTCFDreporting

Lookingahead

Ourrecommendationsonhowtoenhancereporting

Asidentifiedinouranalysis,thereareanumberofareaswherereportingwill

needtoevolvetocomeclosertotheoriginalintentionsbehindtheTCFD,buildgreatertrustincompanies’climatedisclosuresandhelppreparecompaniesforfutureregulatoryreportingrequirements.Theseinclude:

•Greaterclarityonthestrategicrisksandopportunitiesconnectedwithclimatechangeforthebusinessandhowtheyarebeingresponded