Comprehensive ESG Backed by World’s Largest Sovereign Wealth Fund
Norges Bank press for companies to improve and increase ESG disclosures
March 4, 2020 /3BL Media/ - A report from Norges Bank Investment Management – manager of the one trillion Euro Government Pension Fund of Norway – has called for businesses to improve metrics to ensure they disclose ‘relevant, quantitative and comparable information on environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues’.
Norges also set out on Tuesday (March 3) that ESG reporting should ‘use established standards, starting with disclosures based on the GRI Standards’. In addition, they made clear that climate change mitigation reporting should include both direct and indirect carbon emissions disclosures, inclusive of emissions in a company’s value chain.
GRI Chief Executive Tim Mohin said:
“Disclosures based on the GRI Standards offer data that help investors, companies and other stakeholders to make informed decisions. This report from Norges Investment Management reinforces the importance of comprehensive ESG disclosures for investors.
We commend Norges’ call for companies to disclose both direct and indirect carbon emissions. Climate change is a global emergency and, for most companies, the majority of their carbon emissions are indirect. Companies must measure, disclose and manage these impacts if we are to tackle the climate crisis.
For more than 20 years, GRI has enabled reporting on impacts that are material to the environment and society. Focusing solely on the financial implications of the reporting company will not further sustainable development nor will it ultimately serve the long-term interests of investors.”
On 3 March, Norges Bank Investment Management published Responsible Investment 2019, with additional reporting and commentary resulting from their press conference.
Their report also identifies the relevance of information on corporate tax practices, highlighting support from Norges for the development of the GRI Tax Standard, the first global reporting standard for tax transparency, which published in December 2019.
The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) is the independent international organization that helps businesses and other organizations understand and communicate their sustainability impacts.
