The Government's blueprint to make the UK the best place in the world for green and sustainable investment

HM Treasury has published its latest policy paper, Greening Finance: A Roadmap to Sustainable Investing, which sets out a roadmap on sustainable investing.

Rishi Sunak MP has stressed the importance of the private sector to prioritise this further call of action: "Ensuring the financial sector is equipped to play its part is vital. Aligning the financial system with a sustainable future will bring real benefits for the environment and society. It is an opportunity to boost economic growth, create jobs, and level up the UK regions."

A key takeaway from the paper is the creation of the Sustainability Disclosures Requirements (SDR) - an integrated framework for disclosures on sustainability across the economy. This will build on the UK's Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) implementation and impact corporate disclosures, asset manager/owner disclosures, and disclosures for products not making sustainability claims.

It is anticipated that in November 2021, the FCA will publish discussion papers on (i) consumer-facing product-level SDR disclosures, and (ii) a sustainable investment labelling regime.it is clear that ESG issues and the challenges that come with this will continue to grow as a priority for corporate boards and investors, so it is critical that in-house teams prepare accordingly.