Realism and resilience

Realism is my philosophy of choice when it comes to advising companies around sustainability communications. Realism and business resilience.

So today, it's refreshing to receive my copy of Dieter Helm's Climate Realism, which the FT's Chris Giles says 'is a very good use of precious time'. And I love the review by The Times' Tom Whipple, who says 'In a world of pollyannas and cassandras, deniers and zealots, Dieter Helm is something rarer, but a lot more useful: a realist.... and maybe we need to face reality.'

I wholeheartedly agree with the above. The greenhushing now taking place across companies is partly due to the high levels of passion and zealotry of sustainability types. The more we stay realistic and grounded around sustainability topics, the more they will get heard by boards and taken seriously. Quotable line from Dieter's book: 'Many in the climate community have the best of intentions, but the road to hell is also paved with good intentions'. That gives you a flavour of the writing.

In conjunction with this, I tuned into the Financial Conduct Authority's webinar today following the announcement of their new rules around UK SRS on a 'comply or explain' basis which apply to UK listed companies and accounting periods starting 1 January 2027. They explained what they mean by 'explain' when a company cannot or does not have any financially material sustainability risks to disclose. Essentially, it must identify the gap, describe the challenge, explain what is being done. It isn't sufficient to simply state that 'data wasn't available'. Their technical note on this topic is open for consultation until 28th October. If you'd like to listen to the recording of this webinar, I've included a link in the comments.

Most importantly, they reiterated the ISSB principles (which I lived and breathed while I worked there) of only disclosing information that is financially material and decision-useful to investors. Anything else that obscures that information is expressly not needed. This 'back to reality' approach for sustainability disclosure will go a long way in helping companies find the middle path of communications that serves both their own interests and the interests of society.

Long may realism continue in public discourse on sustainability in the UK!