Chartered Accountants can help save the world
By Bruce Cartwright, CEO of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland
Earlier this year, the UK Government declared an environment and climate emergency. The devolved Governments of Scotland and Wales had already made this declaration.
Shortly before leaving office, former UK Prime Minister Theresa May passed legislation that committed the UK to achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050, making Britain the first major economy to do so. On 2 July of this year, the UK Government announced its Green Finance Strategy recognizing the role of the financial sector in delivering domestic and global climate and environmental objectives.
According to a report from the IPCC we only have 12 years to restrict global warming to a 1.5° Celsius rise else we will significantly worsen the risks of drought, floods, extreme heat and poverty for millions of people.
An increase of more than 1.5° C will have a catastrophic effect on our oceans, coral reefs and coastal towns.
There are dramatic implications for failing to tackle climate change. But what does this have to do with accountants?
The accounting profession has a key role in raising awareness and changing behaviour to tackle the issue of climate change, both at a corporate level and individually.
At last year’s World Congress of Accountants (WCOA) ‘Can Accountants Save the World?’ was the title of a seminar by Jessica Fries from The Prince’s Accounting for Sustainability Project (A4S), while ‘Climate change and the role of accountants in creating adaptive organizations’ was discussed by Gordon Beal of CPA Canada.
His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales first raised the issue of climate change back in the 1970s. In 2004 he established A4S. It had one goal – to make sustainable decision making business as usual. Four years later, the A4S Accounting Bodies Network was formed; ICAS is a founding member. This collaborative network, that includes some of the largest professional accounting bodies from all corners of the world, aims to share its collective knowledge, experience and expertise to raise awareness, educate and influence policy on matters related to sustainability, and highlight its relevance to the accounting profession. I am delighted that Anne Adrain, Head of Sustainability and Assurance, ICAS, currently co-chairs this network along with Gord Beal, CPA Canada. Currently, the network has initiatives under way focusing on the UN SDGs, the Task Force for Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) and the future skills and training that will be needed by accountants to enable them to tackle some of these issues
At the end of 2018 I attended the annual A4S Summit where we discussed how far we have come to embed sustainability within our decision making processes. We shared the news that ICAS and SEPA, Scotland’s Environmental Protection Agency, have launched a new working group to help businesses integrate the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into their day-to-day work.
It was clear from the discussion that there has been progress over the last 40 years to tackle some problems such as deforestation, extreme weather events and the excessive consumption of our natural resources. But more needs to be done.
We are already witnessing signs of the increase in extreme environmental events both in the UK and globally from flooding in coastal towns to wildfires in California. These events devastate lives and have significant financial implications.
The capacity for each one of us to make a difference is not mere rhetoric. The ICAS One Young CA winner of 2018, Michael Scott, encourages each one of us to adopt an SDG so that with our own small actions we may contribute to the solution. His message is clear: each one of us can make a difference.
At a corporate level, the TCFD encourages the finance profession voluntarily to report on the risks and opportunities that climate change presents to their organizations within their financial reporting.
In 2017, ICAS pledged its support for the recommendations of the TCFD and we have continued to play our part in highlighting the potential risks, both financially and to society, our members and the wider public. We do this through the ICAS Sustainability Panel, which informs and educates our members of the importance of embedding sustainable behaviour throughout their personal and working lives.
I would like to add my voice to Michael’s in underlining the importance of our individual actions. If each one of us acts now, maybe we can fulfil the vision that accountants really can help save the world.
