Joshua Eyre

It is going to be a busy day for all of us in sustainability roles - The Financial Conduct Authority has just published two highly anticipated documents! 1️⃣ Finalised Guidance FG24/3 Finalised non‑handbook guidance on the Anti‑Greenwashing Rule 🔗 https://lnkd.in/eJCsGS_u 2️⃣ Consultation Paper CP24/8** Extending the Sustainability Disclosure Requirements (SDR) regime to Portfolio Management  🔗 https://lnkd.in/eXPUdMAs 🧐 We look forward to sharing our comments in due course! Please DM me or email us at ESG ACCORD (Accord Initiative) if you have any questions. #AccordInitiative #compliance #esginvesting #climate #sustainableinvesting #financialplanning #esg #wealthmanagement

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Political debate on #climate in this #election has been framed by the entry of Reform into the fray and Labour's electoral strategy, which understandably doesn't focus on winning over climate enthusiasts already likely to vote Labour. That's a shame given the scale and importance of the climate crisis but Labour's ambitions are perhaps more ambitious than people think. Becca MacSwiney unpicks this and outlines some of the unanswered questions that #Labour will need to address after the election, on everything from the National Wealth Fund to Great British Energy, both of which have huge transformational potential 💡🍃 🌍

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With new #climatedisclosure regulations and voluntary standards coming into effect worldwide, quality #GHGemissions reporting is becoming an important part of doing business, as stakeholders ask for more data-driven insight into their climate-related targets and goals—and performance against those goals. #ESG

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What a privilege to attend the Climate Leaders Forum at the UK House of Lords this morning, and kudos to David Over and Sammy Fry for convening an all-star cast of CSOs, entrepreneurs, and industry leaders for some truly engaging discussion. Far too much covered to relay in a single post, but consistent themes included: ⏱️ Solving short-termism to unblock support for the solutions we need; 💡 Making it all relatable to end consumers; 🌿 Bringing #biodiversity and social themes into the mix, and; 🚀 Elevating sustainability through an innovation lens. All echoed by my own sustainable finance round table, alongside some solid debate on the utility of a more sophisticated approach to climate risk, the role of financial services as arbiters of sustainable progress or not, the potential for sustainable missions to channel focus, the critical value of taxonomies and the #transitionfinance market review for clarity, and the need for blended finance solutions to plug the “#valleyofdeath” in scaling solutions, to name a few. Topped and tailed with a rousing tale of despair and optimism from Lord Adair Turner; thought provoking debate over the pitfalls, challenges, and evolving role of corporate sustainability and CSOs from Hannah Jones and John Elkington; insights on sustainable approaches to government procurement from Joe Tilley; and a helpful tour of the nuances and considerations for acting on carbon removals or avoidance from Brennan Spellacy. Great to reconnect with Rishi Madlani, Tony Greenham, Elizabeth Corse, Kat Bruce, and Ben Knight (MIEMA, CEnv) amongst all the great minds in the room, and thanks to Tech Nation, Founders Forum Group, Informatech, and London Tech Week for bringing it all together. #climateleadership #sustainability

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Voting at shareholder meetings is part of being an active owner. In Schroders latest blog we share how we will vote on Nestlé’s reporting on food and beverages according to their healthfulness. Learn more below. #ActiveOwnership #Sustainability

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There are so many ways organisations like PWC and their supply chains can help nature. A great way is to support and invest with organisations like Chiltern Rangers Berkshire, Buckinghamshire & Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust (BBOWT), The Woodland Trust and others to take action in their local areas. Working locally reduces travel and creates a better, more connected landscape. Not only can positive activity sessions like Be a Ranger days help directly e.g. tree planting, river cleans or coppicing in the woods; these days are great for teambuilding, health and well being, giving back to the community and much more. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/dmm27gDx What stops your company for booking these sessions and making the difference for people, place and nature??

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Excellent overview in Business Green today of the UK's new commitment - announced by the PM at the #COP29 #climate summit today - to cut UK greenhouse gas emissions by 81% by 2035 relative to 1990 levels, up from its 68% emission cut target for 2030. Accelerated and consistent progress on attracting investment in clean power infrastructure, delivering urgent planning reforms, creating a stable market for energy efficiency and low carbon heat in the built environment and for electric vehicles will all be essential in the near-term to put the UK economy on a credible pathway towards these targets: https://lnkd.in/e23zRRVE #netzero

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Following the announcement last week on the timeline for UK endorsement of #ISSB, this week the FCA published details in its Primary Market Bulletin of how its rulemaking will be affected. In particular: - Once the UK endorsement is completed in 2025, the FCA will consult on amending its rules to move from TCFD to UK-endorsed ISSB disclosure standards. It also intends to consult on strengthening its expectations for listed companies’ transition plan disclosures, with reference to the Transition Plan Taskforce (TPT) Disclosure Framework at the same time. - Companies may also wish to start reporting voluntarily against ISSB Standards prior to the conclusion of the UK endorsement process. The FCA may explore additional guidance to support issuers subject to its Listing Rules by indicating how reporting based on ISSB Standards can remain consistent with its existing TCFD-based rules, which issuers must continue to meet. https://lnkd.in/ekGUJWu4. 

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#Mission2025 What a breath of fresh air and optimism. Because when you are in the U bend, it feels important to remind yourself that the vast majority of human beings want to thrive on a healthy planet, rather than live through ever intensifying climate change consequences for their livelihoods, their peace and security, and ultimately their children’s health and happiness. There are so many human and business reasons just to get on with it!

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It was pertinent to follow the UK’s NDC announcement at COP29 Azerbaijan yesterday with a really good discussion between former Deputy PM and environment secretary Thérèse Coffey, Head of Labour Together Jonathan Ashworth, and Kate Andrews, Economics editor of The Spectator, on the subject of sustainable futures and the impact of political agendas on #ESG this evening. Things that struck me in conversation included: - Moments of political upheaval present an opportunity to do things differently, and we really ought to make the most of that - #climate change appears in the top 5 concerns of former Conservative voters who voted for The Labour Party at the last election, so for as long as it remains there it’ll remain high on the current government agenda - For all the talk of #InflationReductionAct money going to Republican states in the US, this is outweighed by voters who felt that it actually drove inflation that made life harder for them, even in those states - Staying with the US, promised $2tn of spending cuts across government administrations is going to hit departments like the EPA hard, not just due to the anti-green agenda, but also because of other departments that are due to be protected from cuts. An interesting contradiction from Elon Musk being charged with masterminding such things, yet with an obvious established agenda to promote uptake of #EVs - The government has to prove to investors that the projects they support will actually happen to get the cash flowing in the right direction - no more questionable project finance of schemes with no discernible delivery over a 15 year horizon and an unknown future administration deciding on success etc etc - Tackling the problem of short term stick vs long term carrot is imperative, as well as the conflict of attracting #investment by pushing profits to the private sector and the costs being borne by society - We really ought to have unpegged the cost of energy from gas by now hadn’t we! 😂 Thanks to Jones Day for organising a top panel, Aidan Lawes for ably moderating, and John Crowley for inviting me along! #sustainablefutures #sustainablepolitics https://lnkd.in/dixye8re

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Very important report out on Thursday by the UK's #ClimateChange Committee, highlighting top 10 policy recommendations to put the UK economy back on track for its #netzero target. Many of these echo recommendations to unlock private low carbon investment set out in Aviva Investors' Roadmap, published earlier this week. Priorities that jump out from the CCC's report include: planning reforms to speed up investment in - and the construction of - grid, power generation and low carbon industrial infrastructure (hydrogen, CCUS etc.), the case for increasing the budget for the September 2024 and September 2025 annual auctions for #renewables to grow the pipeline of commercially viable projects in areas like #offshorewind, and the urgency of reforms to cut electricity prices to enable investment in the electrification of other parts of the economy like heating and heavy industry (steel, cement etc). You can find out more here:

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Excited to be contributing to the Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials (PCAF)’s session at Reset Connect on June 25 at 3pm, as part of London Climate Action Week.   PCAF’s UK Chapter will be leading a workshop on measuring and disclosing the GHG emissions from financial activities using the #PCAFStandard. This is a fantastic opportunity for stakeholders from across finance, public sectors, and industry to explore: ⚡ The significance of PCAF and emissions measurement ⚡ A case study from OakNorth on our use of the PCAF Standard and its role in our net zero strategy ⚡ PCAF’s integration into the wider financial ecosystem and its impact through strategic collaborations ⚡ The future of the PCAF Standard   More details on registering to attend can be found on the Reset Connect website: https://lnkd.in/ewaS7wk8   #LCAW2024 #FinancedEmissions #resetconnect #rcl24 #netzero #decarbonisation #sustainability

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Interesting short documentary by Financial Times that explores the pitfalls of #ESG and the rise of more robust, climate impact-driven investment methodologies focused on sustainability. “We will not be speaking of ESG anymore in 5, 10 years from now. And that is because sustainability will be embedded in how we invest.” A must-watch for anyone interested in the evolving landscape of sustainable investing. Watch: https://lnkd.in/dEbwZmkE #Sustainability #Investing #ESG #ClimateChange #Impact

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My Podcast is up on Hardman and Co, under the EIS Navigator page: The EIS Navigator podcast is for those interested in the UK venture capital industry, particularly the areas that are supported by government schemes. These include the Enterprise Investment Scheme, EIS, Seed Enterprise Investment Scheme, or SEIS, and Venture Capital Trusts. This means we are looking at small, growth companies – often at the startup stage. We interview leading people in the industry, whether fund managers, company founders or experts from other service providers. The aim is to dig deeply into topics, getting away from the promotional material that predominates elsewhere. Venture capital investing is a long-term endeavour and we will focus on topics that are relevant at any time. https://lnkd.in/ez7rqiAk.

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Today we have proudly published our 2023 Group Sustainability Report. 🎉 For those who don’t know, Skipton Building Society is the parent company of the Skipton Group with a strong presence across… 💷 Finance (Skipton Building Society, Skipton International, Skipton Business Finance ) 🏠Estate agency (Connells Group, Countrywide) 📋Surveying and valuations (Harvey Donaldson & Gibson Chartered Surveyors , Connells Survey & Valuation, Countrywide Surveying Services) 👷‍♀️ Property development (Lambert Smith Hampton) 🧑🏾‍💻Data and software (Jade Software Corporation) and so much more! We’re on a real growth journey in sustainability, embedding this to meet the needs of our different business lines. Today’s report is a great showcase of many of the fantastic things we got up to last year and where we’ll continue to do more. Interest piqued? Grab a brew and have a peruse ☕️ #sustainability #corporateresponsibilty #skiptongroup #skiptonbuildingsociety

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In an exclusive with Danielle Rossingh, Impact-Investor.com., Ninety One's Emerging Market Fixed Income team has announced the launch of the Sovereign Biodiversity Index to assess how governments are impacting nature and biodiversity. Portfolio Manager Peter Eerdmans said: “As #sovereigndebt investors, we need a practical way to assess how governments impact nature and the risks stemming from #biodiversity loss, as they can significantly influence economic performance and consequently a nation’s ability to service its debt. This is particularly key for investors in #emergingmarkets, where economies often rely heavily on nature, partly because of the relative importance of the agricultural sector.” https://nty.one/3YpMYAu #fixedincome #nature #deforestation #emergingmarketdebt #sovereigndebtinvestor #institutionalinvestor #naturefinance #climateinvesting #transition #netzero #netzerotransition #impactinvesting #sovereign #SDG #ecosystem

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