RICS becomes first built environment body to join global climate taskforce

RICS has become the first professional body dedicated to the built environment to become an official supporter of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD).

Disclosures are a critical means of accelerating investment in the transition to a low carbon future, supporting market confidence and informing investor decision-making regarding a company’s environmental impact. As a partner in the Task Force, RICS is recognised as a leader in developing tools and standards for assessing and reporting climate-related financial risk within the built environment. These are vital enablers of behaviour change towards investment into more environmentally sustainable activities.

The TCFD was established by the Financial Stability Board in 2015 and is chaired by Michael R. Bloomberg. Its recommendations enable financial markets to address the impact of climate change through increased transparency and the promotion of more informed financial decision-making.

As a TCFD supporter, RICS brings substantial insight and experience from collaboration on climate change, including as a founding member of the Global Alliance for Buildings and Construction and the Coalition for Energy Efficient Buildings, and as a contributor to the EU Taxonomy for Sustainable Activities.

Tim Neal, RICS President, commented: "RICS is proud to join the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures. Driving down carbon emissions as we adapt to a changing climate requires greater transparency about organisations’ exposure to climate-related risk, and RICS professionals have a crucial role to play in supporting this shift.

“The skills and commitment of RICS professionals to international standards and delivering trusted data and insight have never been more important. We look forward to working with the TCFD and to supporting RICS professionals as they help build the world’s resilience to climate change."

About the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures

On December 4, 2015, the Financial Stability Board (FSB) established the industry-led Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) with Michael R. Bloomberg as Chair. The Task Force currently has four Vice Chairs and 31 members in total, and more than 1,000 organizations globally have expressed support for the TCFD and its recommendations. The TCFD was asked to develop voluntary, consistent climate-related financial disclosures for use by companies in providing information to lenders, insurers, investors and other stakeholders, which were published in the TCFD Recommendations Report on June 29, 2017. More information about the TCFD can be found here.