Do Investors Care About and Trust Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) Reporting by UK Companies?

This Challenge aims to answer O’Dwyer’s and Unerman’s (2020) call to use academic research to advance the development of Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) aligned disclosures as well as contribute to realising its ground breaking potential to positively contribute to the UK government’s net zero goal and the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).

TCFD aligned disclosures are used internationally and form part of the International Sustainability Standards Board’s (ISSB) issued standards that are implemented on a voluntary basis around the world. However, as the recommendations are implemented into UK law to achieve the UK net zero target and applied on a mandatory basis since April 2022, the UK provides an ideal setting for our research, yet our aim is to contribute to a wider, global discussion. We aim to answer O’Dwyer’s and Unerman’s (2020) call to use academic research to advance the development of these types of disclosures as well as contribute to realising its groundbreaking potential to positively contribute the UK government’s net zero goal and the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). As this reporting is paving the way for the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures whose disclosures aim to shift global financial flows away from nature-negative outcomes to nature-positive outcomes, we want to understand two facets of the TCFD requirements already in place: (1) Do investors care about them? and (2) Do they trust the reports?

The findings will offer practical insights for companies engaged in TCFD reporting, providing recommendations on enhancing transparency and trust in their climate-related financial disclosures. It will be most relevant to policy makers wanting to understand the extent to which the disclosures matter to investors and whether they have the potential for positive impact in the strive to net zero and other sustainability goals. Finally, as the framework is paving the way for similar efforts, some assessment of its merits as well as recommendations for its development at this relatively early stage can improve its potential.

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Email Gillian Hosier or call on 01908 858285 to discuss this project