Establishing a framework for companies to measure carbon emissions

I WATCHED with enthusiasm the inaugural Joint Committee on Climate Change Flagship Conference convened by Bank Negara Malaysia and the Securities Commission Malaysia. It means a lot to me personally as a sustainability professional working in Australia to learn that the principles of sustainability are increasingly embedded into mainstream financial decision-making. Socio-environmental consciousness is now moving from the realm of advocacy to pragmatic economics globally.

A common theme raised throughout the conference was financial risks arising from climate change. For lending institutions, transition and physical risks are real; what does continued funding to a coal plant mean to your portfolio? For borrowers, will your access to capital shrink as banks increasingly scrutinise your carbon footprint?