Disclosure of climate-related risks and opportunities
As a growing number of investors demand more information around how companies are addressing the effects of climate change, Unilever recognizes the importance of disclosing climate-related risks and opportunities. Adopting the TCFD recommendations is an important step forward in enabling market forces to drive efficient allocation of capital and support a smooth transition to a low-carbon economy.
Graeme Pitkethly, Unilever's Chief Financial Officer and Vice Chair of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures, said:
“It’s fundamental for every good business to manage and communicate risks and opportunities. We are already obliged to disclose material risk. Climate change is no different. It’s a risk that is already affecting companies today – both through the impacts of steadily rising global temperatures and through the policies that governments around the world adopt in response."
“As part of the task force, we have put together a standardised framework for companies to disclose climate-related risks and opportunities, focusing on making them as practical as possible to adopt. Why? Because markets need information to operate efficiently. We have to be transparent to help investors make better decisions for the long term. And beyond the markets, we know that transparency is increasingly important to our consumers too. They want to know the values of the companies they are buying from, particularly millennials. The same goes for the young talented future leaders we all wish to recruit."
“I’d urge all companies to read this report and adopt the recommendations.”
Read Graeme Pitkethly’s opinion piece on CNN Money.