Climate Engagement Canada supports Focus List companies by providing access to leading climate change oversight course for board directors
- October 8, 2024
In 2023, CEC launched the first edition of its annual Net Zero Benchmark. It provides a set of common standards for investors to evaluate corporate issuers’ progress toward aligning with the Paris Agreement’s ambition, limiting global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius, while pursuing efforts to limit the increase to 1.5 degrees. The Benchmark includes disclosure indicators related to climate governance (Indicator 8). In the 2023 iteration of the Benchmark, analysis suggested that only 5% of CEC Focus List companies have fulfilled investor expectations related to disclosure indicators on climate governance. This demonstrates that there is significant room for improvement. To manage climate change as a systems-level risk, board directors require extensive subject matter knowledge and nuanced governance capabilities. These unique competencies will support Canadian companies in effectively navigating the transition to a low-carbon economy.
To support this need, CEC is pleased to announce new dedicated grant funding for Focus List company directors in taking the Institute of Corporate Directors’ (ICD) Board Oversight of Climate Change course. The course is well aligned with CEC investors’ expectations of Focus List companies; it is designed to build directors’ climate competency by equipping them with the knowledge, tools and forward-thinking strategies to enhance their oversight of climate related risks, improve boardroom discussions on climate transition and increase their organization’s long-term competitiveness.
Each Focus List company that has not yet had a board director partake in the ICD’s climate course (35 of 41 companies), is eligible to signal interest in sending one director to take the program. Up to $50,000 CAD will be made available over the next two years to support corporate directors’ enrolment in the course. Eligible CEC Focus List companies are invited to signal their interest to the initiative’s Joint Secretariat on an ongoing basis.
For further information, contact cec@riacanada.ca
About Climate Engagement Canada (CEC)
Climate Engagement Canada (CEC) is a finance-led initiative that drives dialogue between the financial community and corporate issuers to promote a just transition to a Net Zero economy. Through CEC, 51+ investor participants (with +$7.2T in assets under management covered by the initiative) (a) help Canadian public companies missed by global initiatives successfully evolve their business models and transition toward our country’s climate commitments, and (b) enhance the level of transparency into Canadian climate risk exposure and transition strategies. In 2019, Canada’s Expert Panel on Sustainable Finance made a recommendation to establish a national engagement program to drive a broader and more consistent dialogue with Canadian issuers around climate risks and opportunities (Recommendation 10.2). CEC is a response to that call to action.
Through multi-year CEC engagements, company boards and senior leaders of Canadian companies can learn about the concerns and expectations of the financial sector as they relate to a timely transition to Net Zero emissions by 2050. This includes i) Strong governance frameworks with oversight of climate change risks and opportunities; ii) GHG-emission reduction strategies consistent with the goals of the Paris Agreement; iii) Measurable, sector-relevant targets; iv) Global standard disclosures (e.g., Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures); and, v) Paris Agreement-aligned advocacy activities. CEC is coordinated by its Joint Secretariat: The Responsible Investment Association (RIA) and the Shareholder Association for Research and Education (SHARE). The initiative is also supported by the international investor networks the UN Principles for Responsible Investment (UNPRI) and Ceres.