In October 2020, financial institutions from around the world will once again be recognized for the quality of their climate-related reporting at the International Climate Reporting Awards. Organized by the French Ministry for the Ecological and Inclusive Transition, the French Ecological Transition Agency (ADEME), the non-profit think tank 2° Investing Initiative, as well as the global standard-setter the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB), the awards are open for submissions from May 18th through July 13th, 2020.
Objectives of the Awards
Financial institutions are encouraged to apply in order to:
- Gain international recognition for your organization’s climate strategy
- Share expertise, learnings, and help identify challenges in the climate reporting field
- Receive tailored feedback and advice on your institution’s reporting practices
All financial institutions from around the world are eligible, including asset managers, asset owners, insurances and banks, as well as development banks and central banks.
Building on leading global standards, including the Task force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) and the EU Non-Financial Reporting Directive, the Awards aim to recognize financial institutions who integrate climate-related considerations into their reporting and business practices. The French government’s support for the Awards stems from its groundbreaking work in climate reporting, notably Article 173-VI of the Law on Energy Transition for Green Growth – the first climate-related financial regulation in Europe.
In 2019, the top prizes went to six financial institutions from the U.S., France, and Australia: Aviva France, Citi, Allianz France, Ircantec, and AXA. Australian Ethical won the Jury’s Special Prize, having been shortlisted under two categories.
Changes in 2020
In 2020, the Awards criteria and scoring system have been enhanced to consider the latest advances in climate reporting, such as how institutions perform climate stress-testing for the first time. The jury will bestow awards by type of financial institution. Moreover, the jury will require all applicants to receive a minimum score against some criteria to be eligible for awards.
For this 3rd edition, the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB), a jury member in 2019, has joined the Awards Steering Committee to add its subject matter expertise to the committee and provide its experience on the materiality and impact of sustainability-related matters to financial institutions.
Find out more and apply:
- Applications are open from May 18th to July 13th, 2020
- More information can be found on the official Awards website
- For questions, please contact info@climatereportingawards.org
Brune Poirson, Secretary of State to the Minister for the Ecological and Inclusive Transition, said: “France has always been a pioneer in developing best reporting practices. The Climate Reporting Awards enable international actors to measure their performance against their peers and global standards.”
Arnaud Leroy, president of ADEME, said: “Climate-related disclosures and reporting are more important than ever in our broader efforts to meet the Paris Agreement goals and achieve the transition to a low-carbon economy. We encourage financial institutions worldwide to submit their applications, not only for the chance to win but also to receive personalized feedback on ways to improve their methodology.”
Janine Guillot, CEO of the SASB Foundation, said: “There is a growing demand for consistent, comparable, and decision-useful climate-related disclosures, and recognition by investors that the overall quality of climate-related disclosures is improving. As a global provider of sustainability accounting standards, SASB is proud to participate for the first time as a member of the steering committee and jury for the Climate Reporting Awards, in order to recognize emerging best practices in climate disclosure.”
Stan Dupré, CEO and co-founder of the 2° Investing Initiative, said: “Our groundbreaking work on climate-related reporting and disclosures dates back to our contributions to Article 173-VI in 2015. We’re delighted to work with the French government and other partners to organize the latest edition of the Awards and to help further refine climate reporting methodologies.”
Stuart Palmer, Head of Ethics Research at Australian Ethical, said: “The Awards help drive the increased climate transparency which is essential for meaningful climate action. The application and feedback process has been an important contributor to the evolution of Australian Ethical’s thinking about how we can speak and act most effectively on climate.”
Yann Duvaud Schelnast, Head of Sustainable Investment, Innovation and Governance at Allianz France, said: “Our purpose at Allianz is: We secure your future. That’s why we believe it is necessary to integrate climate change into our everyday investment decision-making process so that to protect our customers and the society we live in. The participation in this Awards last year enabled us to understand both the strength and weakness of our ESG strategy, and we are looking forward to learning more this year”.
Val Smith, Chief Sustainability Officer at Citi, said: “Climate change analysis and disclosure is more important than ever, and we know that a variety of stakeholders rely on TCFD disclosure to understand how companies like Citi are managing climate risk and helping drive the transition to a low-carbon economy. Citi was pleased to be recognized for our TCFD analysis and disclosure by the International Climate Reporting Awards, and we welcome this year’s set of applicants as further examples of our community’s collective efforts to drive best-in-class climate reporting forward.”
Jean-Pierre Costes, president of the board of trustees at Ircantec, said, “Ircantec has been committed to the climate for several years and we are proud that our efforts have been rewarded by a jury of high level and international experts. Participating in these awards was a great opportunity to challenge our practices and to mobilize internally and externally around the ecological and energy transition.”
