Policy Hub
Our resources provide practical recommendations and guidance on key responsible investment themes.
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Briefing09 September 2024
Policy briefing: Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG)
The Government's 'biodiversity net gain' (BNG) legislation requires developers to improve the natural habitat of land they're building on by at least 10%. This means that any new development, such as a building or road, should ultimately leave nature in a better state than it was before. However, for this scheme to truly succeed, the Government must make certain improvements. Our new briefing calls on policymakers to refine and enhance the existing BNG scheme. It details the key improvements needed to ensure the scheme is ambitious enough to address the urgency of the biodiversity crisis and start addressing biodiversity loss in the UK.
Joint Statement06 September 2024
Investor Air Quality Statement 2024
Many investors know that the health of communities isn't just a social priority, but also a financial one. That's why on the International Day of Clean Air for Blue Skies, investors in our Long-term Investors in Peoples' Health (LIPH) programme, made a public statement calling on the Government to implement policies that require relevant sectors to disclose more consistent and easily comparable health-related data, including air pollution emissions across a company’s operational footprint. Once these are in place, the Government can set emissions limits to meaningfully lower emissions and reduce the economic and health damage caused by air pollution. #WorldCleanAirDay
Joint Statement19 August 2024
HM Treasury should expedite the regulation of investment consultants
Together with a number of other signatories, ShareAction has written to HM Treasury urging them to expedite plans to regulate all activities of investment consultants. At various times over the last ten years the Financial Conduct Authority, the Competition and Markets Authority, parliamentary committees and other interested parties have called for investment consultants to be brought within the FCA’s regulatory perimeter, and we hope that this will now be rapidly progressed.
Consultation Responses31 July 2024
ShareAction response to the Taskforce on Inequality and Social-related Financial Disclosures (TISFD) request for feedback
The Taskforce on Inequality and Social-related Financial Disclosures (TISFD) is a global initiative to develop recommendations that enable businesses and investors to effectively identify, assess, and report on their inequality and social-related risks, opportunities, and impacts. The TISFD Working Group requested feedback on technical scope of the TISFD, including its thematic scope, materiality approach, and interoperability with existing standards and frameworks. As the TISFD plans to prioritize disclosure recommendations of general relevance and/or that most meaningfully allow users of information to respond to widespread or significant social and inequality-related risks, opportunities and impact, we are advocating for health-related disclosures to be a priority.
Joint Statement30 July 2024
A green financial system can power sustainable economic growth.
15 CSOs call for an ambitious agenda on sustainable finance In a new joint briefing, 15 civil society organisations have come together to urge the new government to prioritise green finance, demonstrating to the world how to finance a just transition to a thriving low-carbon economy. We put forward ambitious but achievable recommendations for how the government can: 1. Set out an ambitious plan to invest in green growth. 2. Leverage the power of financial sector policy to drive green investment and end unsustainable financing. 3. Focus our public institutions on delivering green growth and prosperity.
Consultation Responses01 May 2024
ShareAction submission to FRC on the Stewardship Code Review
We remain concerned about weakening regulatory and policy maker expectations around stewardship, at a time of diminishing standards in practice, both in the UK and internationally. In this response to the Stewardship Code review by the FRC, we state our desire to see an ambitious Stewardship Code, driving effective corporate engagement.
Report26 March 2024
ShareAction, E3G and WWF joint report "Investing in Europe's Prosperity: a vision for financing the transition to sustainability 2024-2030"
The joint report outlines the key role played by financial regulation to mobilise private and public finance for the transition towards a more sustainable economy, and puts forward specific recommendations for European policymakers ahead of the European elections in June. These recommendations build on the content of the ERIN Manifesto launched in October 2023 and if implemented would allow for targeted but decisive action in the private and public finance sectors ahead of 2030 to achieve the objectives of the European Green Deal.
Briefing18 March 2024
From Policy to Preservation: Why the UK Government should introduce mandatory reporting against the TNFD
The Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) is a disclosure framework designed to help companies and financial institutions to identify their risks, impacts and dependencies on nature. The financial sector has a pivotal role to play in addressing the biodiversity crisis, but many institutions have failed to embed nature within their decision making. This briefing shows the need for increased ambition in enshrining nature protection within UK policy, beginning with sector wide mandatory disclosures against the TNFD, to align with the UK Government’s preexisting commitment to Target 15 of the Global Biodiversity Framework and its ambition to become a global leader on nature conservation.
Consultation Responses05 September 2023
ShareAction response to Pension trustee capability call for evidence
ShareAction and Impact Investing Institute’s joint-submission to DWP’s call for evidence on trustee capabilities, in which we call for statutory redefinition of savers’ “best interests” to ensure pensions savings are aligned with a sustainable future.
Briefing04 September 2023
ShareAction Briefing on Investor due diligence obligations in the CSDDD
ShareAction has produced a briefing on investor due diligence obligations in the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD). The trilogue negotiations on the CSDDD are an opportunity to establish due diligence obligations for financial and non-financial companies across the EU market. With global temperatures rising and inequalities increasing, there is an urgent need for investors to conduct meaningful due diligence to adequately manage sustainability risks across their value chains and support strong human rights and environmental protection. This briefing shows that the concept of due diligence is not novel to investors, but common standards are lacking.
