On the go: The Pensions Research Accountants Group has published guidance to help practitioners understand the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures governance and reporting requirements.
The new environmental, social and governance rules, which came into force in October 2021, mandate schemes with more than £5bn in assets to publish their first TCFD reports in the first half of the new year.
Schemes in the second wave — with between £1bn and £5bn in assets — will need to meet ongoing requirements for strategy, risk management and governance by October 2022.
The new requirements do not affect financial reporting disclosures but do have an impact on the information included in — and linked from — the annual report of occupational pension schemes, the industry group said.
The document, available for PRAG members, also addresses the latest requirements from the Pensions Regulator, includes additional guidance on implementation statements and provides an example table showing the disclosure of greenhouse gas emission metrics.
According to Sarah Lacey, chair of the PRAG ESG working party, occupational pension schemes “are at the forefront of mandated, climate-related financial disclosures with the Pension Schemes Act 2021 and climate change regulations introducing new disclosure requirements around climate change risk”.
She said: “The guidance has been produced as a starting point for schemes caught in the initial two waves of reporting, and we will develop the document as more information, increased regulation and examples of best practice emerge.”
