The Transition Plan Taskforce, first announced by the UK at COP26, is on Monday launching a disclosure framework for climate transition plans, to help companies and financial institutions with climate reporting and achieving net zero, as well as improving comparability of company reports. 

 

TPT said the documents published on Monday build on the disclosures developed by the International Sustainability Standards Board and draw on the work of the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero, both of which are taskforce members. 

  

Organisations including master trust Nest, wildlife charity WWF, and firms such as Aviva, Unilever and the London Stock Exchange Group also sit on TPT’s steering group. 

 

“It’s great to see more and more companies announcing their net zero ambitions, but these are of little use if there’s no action or accountability,” said TPT co-chair Amanda Blanc, group chief executive of Aviva Group. 

 

“Backing up net zero ambitions with high quality and clear transition plans is crucial if we are to collectively deliver net zero. The TPT Disclosure Framework will help businesses understand just what makes a climate transition plan robust and credible,” she added.

At Monday's launch event, Blanc called on those present to "stick at it... especially when it's not easy", to spread their enthusiasm and expertise, and to put pressure on government and regulators to take action.

"What we sometimes don’t recognise is that this system is not set in stone. We have power, and a strong collective voice, and need to push the system," she said.

  

The UK government is represented on the TPT by Treasury Lords Minister Baroness Penn, who also co-chairs it. 

Baroness Penn said: “Under our COP26 leadership the government set out that the UK would move towards making the publication of transition plans mandatory as part of our commitment to becoming the world’s first net zero-aligned financial centre. Launched only in April 2022, the Transition Plan Taskforce has now delivered on its core mandate to develop the gold standard for private sector climate transition plans.”  

 

“The transparency and accountability offered by transition plans is vital to the fundamental shift in business and finance that is required for the economy-wide transition to net zero and a climate resilient future.” 

 

TPT said that a company’s transition plan “should take a strategic and rounded approach that explains how it will meet climate targets, manage climate-related risks, and contribute to achieving net zero”, disclosing this as part of annual reporting on forward business strategy, saying the framework provides the basis for doing so. 

  

The new framework will also help with comparing company reports, said TPT, and reduce the level of disclosure complexity faced by firms. It claimed that its work “has already attracted significant interest from other jurisdictions”. 

  

Alongside the Disclosure Framework, the Taskforce has published additional guidance for preparers and users of transition plans, including: 

  

Several pension investors are represented in the delivery group, including the Church of England Pensions Board, Railpen and the Brunel Pension Partnership, while the Pensions Regulator and the Department for Work and Pensions are observers. 

  

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