For both corporates and investor organisations, it is important to have a thorough understanding of what climate change means for their own business models, but also that of the financial system. This is required to strengthen the resilience and sustainability of both individual companies and the financial system.
 
The Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), established by the Financial Stability Board (FSB) in 2015, was created with the purpose of recommending how the financial sector can incorporate climate-related issues in its decision making. A key TCFD objective is to develop recommendations for more effective climate-related disclosures that will assist organisations in their understanding of climate-related risks and to provide guidance on how organisations can implement measures to protect them from such risks.
 
The TCFD recommendations are fast becoming global best practice for institutions looking to integrate climate-related risks into their governance, strategic and operational processes. In the context of South African companies and investors, the journey has only just begun, making this report a must-read.