AIA’s Sustainability Promise is to be committed to ensuring its members have the skills, knowledge and tools to promote sustainable business practices.
The government, the Green Finance Institute, and a number leading financial professional bodies, including AIA, are signatories of the green finance education charter, designed to embed green finance and sustainability into the core curricula, new qualifications, and the continued professional development of accountants.
Each of the signatories acknowledge the collective responsibility of the global community including the banking, finance and professional services sectors to deliver Article 2.1c of the Paris Agreement and the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
AIA is committed to educating its members in green finance.
We have brought together a team of experts to provide a series of three workshops to ensure members are ready to operate in a low carbon/net-zero world.
The series starts by looking at issues which are being faced not only by companies but by individuals. These issues range from climate change to social inequalities and are constantly being raised, yet so many people are not taking them seriously. Why?
Climate change is probably the biggest threat to human kind and has brought World Leaders together in a display of co-operation to make the necessary changes. But how are they doing this?
The accountancy profession has a huge part to play as companies look towards calculating carbon footprints and how to plan for net-zero. Sustainability accounting standards are being considered globally to bring the profession into line with each other.
Understanding Economic, Social and Governance risks, opportunities and reporting are essential for a business to thrive in today’s world!
In recognition of the importance of green finance we are offering open access to the above three workshops.
As a Commonwealth accredited organisation, AIA adheres to the values and principles embedded in Commonwealth Declarations, notably the Singapore Declaration on Commonwealth Principles (1971) and the Harare Commonwealth Declaration (1991), which outlines a commitment to promoting democracy and good governance, human rights and the rule of law, gender equality and sustainable economic and social development.
The Commonwealth helps member countries protect their environments and use their natural resources sustainably and operates a number of environmental programmes.
"AIA plays two distinct roles in promoting green finance and sustainability. As a professional body we are committed through our policy agenda to act as an authoritative voice within the accountancy sector to raise standards and education in green finance and sustainability. We also ensure that our members have the skills, knowledge and tools to promote sustainable business practices."
The IFRS Foundation are working on the creation of a proposed new standard-setting board—International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB)—to help meet the need for high quality, transparent, reliable and comparable reporting by companies on climate and other environmental, social and governance (ESG) matters.
The intention is to deliver a global baseline of sustainability-related disclosure standards that provide investors and other capital market participants with decision-useful information about companies’ sustainability-related risks and opportunities to help them make informed decisions.
ACCESS THE IFRS SUSTAINABILITY HUBThe Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) was created to improve and increase reporting of climate-related financial information, including the risks and opportunities presented by rising temperatures, climate-related policy, and emerging technologies in today's world.
ACCESS THE TCFD KNOWLEDGE HUBThe Global Reporting Initiative is an independent, international organisation that helps businesses take responsibility for the impact of their work. GRI Standards help advance the practice of sustainability reporting, and enable businesses and their stakeholders to take action and make better decisions that have economic, environmental and social benefits.
ACCESS GRI SUSTAINABILITY STANDARDSCOP26 aims to mobilise finance as a mechanism to achieve its climate goals; countries need to manage the increasing impacts of climate change on their citizens’ lives and they need the funding to do it. The scale and speed of the changes needed will require all forms of finance including:
Green is the New Finance is a podcast series from the Green Finance Institute which showcases thought leadership on green finance and sustainability with interviews from key figures in the finance sector or policy environment discussing their ideas on how to advance green and sustainable finance.
LISTEN TO THE PODCASTThe Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has published its Annual Review of Corporate Reporting, which outlines the FRC’s ‘top ten’ areas where improvements to reporting are required. From next year, premium listed companies will be required to disclose their compliance with the Taskforce for Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) recommendations on a comply-or-explain basis.
READ THE FULL REPORT READ THE GUIDANCE ON TCFD REPORTINGIAASA have also released an information note on Reporting Climate Change.
IAASA INFORMATION NOTE ON REPORTING CLIMATE CHANGEInternational Accountant magazine covers a range of topics relating to green finance and sustainability, including news, insights and thought-leadership.
READ INTERNATIONAL ACCOUNTANTThis publication outlines some of the benefits for SMEs using and even reporting on sustainability information, highlighting the range of services practitioners can provide, including advisory, reporting, Agreed-Upon Procedures (AUP) engagements and assurance. It also explains how SMPs can build skills, knowledge and take initial steps.
READ THE IFAC SUSTAINABILITY REPORT FOR SMEsIn the second of a four part series, Dr Peter Ellington and Fran Ellington explain how forward-looking accountancy practices are offering greenhouse gas accounting and net zero advisory services, supporting businesses to transition to the new sustainble economy.
As an EFAA member AIA works with other professional bodies across Europe to provide guidance and support to SMPS and SMEs.
Published guidance offers suggestions on how SMPs can best respond to the rapid emergence of sustainability reporting. It explains how the landscape is fast evolving and how significant new reporting requirements, and the limited time to get ready for them, demand that SMPs and SMEs prepare now for their implementation. It also includes useful tips on how SMPs can get ready to prepare sustainability reports for their SME clients.
SMPs can support the creation of a sustainable EU economy in the following ways:
"We're excited to see more and more accountancy practices starting to calculate their emissions and get on the road to Net Zero - creating a brighter future for their businesses and for the planet.”
Neil Ross Russell, Net Zero Now Managing Director
