Exclusive: Chartered IIA calls on government to extend mandatory climate reporting to smaller businesses
The Chartered IIA is calling on the government to further its demands on climate reporting, including widening out mandatory climate reporting to include small and medium-sized organisations.
In March the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) launched a consultation to require mandatory climate disclosures from large companies.
Companies that would be affected by the government’s proposals include publicly listed companies, and large private companies and law firms with more than 500 employees and a turnover of more than £500m.
But the Chartered Institute of Internal Auditors (Chartered IIA) said the government should also bring smaller companies under the mandatory reporting rules.
“Small to medium-sized organisations also make significant contributions to climate change and so should contribute to the road to net zero,” the Chartered IAA wrote in its consultation submission.
Environmental charity Client Earth has described top listed companies in the UK as “woefully” inadequate” at disclosing in corporate reporting how climate change will affect their business.
BEIS said its objective is to increase the quantity and quality to climate-related financial disclosures in a proportionate manner.
John Wood, chief executive of the Chartered IIA, told City A.M. that the body wanted to government to be more “radical” in its implementation of climate disclosures.
“Currently rules would only apply to public quoted companies, large private companies and LLPs, but we would like to see regulation extended in time to encompass small and medium sized organisations,” he said.
“Small businesses make significant contributions to climate change, and we would like to see them therefore contribute to the road to net zero.”