Domestic insights
ASIC Commissioner addresses financial system climate risk(Opens in a new tab/window)
Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) Commissioner’s, Kate O’Rourke, keynote address(Opens in a new tab/window) at the Responsible Investment Association Australasia (RIAA) Conference on 29 May 2025, discussed how ASIC is helping entities comply with the mandatory climate-related reporting framework. ASIC is intending to develop a set of educational materials to help report preparers. In March, ASIC published regulatory guidance on sustainability reporting (RG 280(Opens in a new tab/window)). ASIC is currently reviewing applications for relief.
ACCC Chair highlights urgent need for action on environmental sustainability(Opens in a new tab/window)
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) Chair, Gina Cass-Gottlieb, has during an address(Opens in a new tab/window) for National Reconciliation Week recognised that in 2025 ‘the need for urgent action on environmental sustainability is undeniable’. The ACCC has role in the economic transition. Businesses cannot cut and paste directly from mandatory reporting when marketing to consumers. It is critical they consider how everyday consumers will interpret their claims. The recent OECD’s report(Opens in a new tab/window) highlights the growing importance of green transition and claims for consumers and suppliers. While ACCC is committed to investing and responding to misleading claims, it supports ‘the good faith efforts of businesses to communicate genuine claims’.
2025 State of Net Zero Investment Report(Opens in a new tab/window)
The Investor Group on Climate Change – a leading network of institutional investors in Australia and New Zealand – has released(Opens in a new tab/window) its 2025 State of Net Zero Investment Report. The report notes investors are increasingly recognising the need to take a holistic and integrated approach to addressing climate risks and opportunities, including through considering circular economy, biodiversity and nature, and deforestation issues. Of the surveyed asset managers, 63 per cent reported taking some action on nature and biodiversity (whether assessing risks and/or implementing a response), up from 49 per cent in 2023. However, 64 per cent of asset owners were yet to take any action on nature-related issues.
Global insights
A-Track’s Embed Nature program kicks off on 10 June(Opens in a new tab/window)
A-Track, a four year €11 million project funded by the European Union’s Horizon Europe program, has launched(Opens in a new tab/window) its Embed Nature capability-building program, which is built for businesses already advancing their nature strategies and looking to take greater internal cross-departmental action. Its Phase 1 program, to embed nature in operational and financial decision making, will run from June 2025 to June 2026. The program is open to all interested businesses.
GARP’s 2025 Nature Risk Survey(Opens in a new tab/window)
The Global Association of Risk Professionals (GARP), a not-for-profit membership organisation focused on elevating risk management practice, has published(Opens in a new tab/window) its 2025 global survey of nature risk management across financial firms. The survey comprised 48 firms including 29 banks, 11 asset managers and eight insurers, with around USD 31 trillion of assets on their balance sheets. The survey finds that more firms are focusing on identifying their nature-related risks, and that they view nature-related risks as having more impact on their strategy than nature-related opportunities. Almost two thirds of survey respondents (63 per cent) expect the number of staff working on nature-related risks to increase in the next two years. Firms are also building up capability within their staffing, with 58 per cent of survey respondents training staff about nature-related risks.
CISL’s Shape or be Shaped(Opens in a new tab/window)
The Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL), an impact-led institute within University of Cambridge, has published(Opens in a new tab/window) a new business briefing ‘shape or be shaped: business need to change the system’. This publication builds on CISL’s briefing ‘competing in the age of disruption(Opens in a new tab/window)’, which sets out that businesses need to work together to transform the system and change market incentives if they are to avoid the risks and take the opportunities posed by global sustainability challenges. It provides a business case for businesses to practice ‘responsible policy engagement’, to reduce risk, manage stakeholder expectations, to influence policy and to support mutual action. CISL plans to scale up its work on policy through tailored campaigns and building effective partnerships.
Mitsubishi Electric joins G7 Alliance on Nature Positive Economies(Opens in a new tab/window)
Mitsubishi Electric Corporation has announced(Opens in a new tab/window) its membership to the G7 Alliance on Nature Positive Economies (G7ANPE). Mitsubishi has committed to promote open information sharing and exchanges and to accelerate its efforts to realise nature positive.
Nature loss matters to companies(Opens in a new tab/window)
The Financial Times has published(Opens in a new tab/window) an article by Dr Rajat Panwar, Associate Professor of Sustainable Business Management at Oregon State University, which discusses the need to expand climate action to include action on nature loss. ‘Nature-centred business must be embedded into a broader economic shift — one that reorients industry around regeneration, not extraction. A bioeconomy built on ecological productivity, circular design, and inclusive stewardship offers a viable and scalable path forward.’
Allianz biodiversity case-study(Opens in a new tab/window)
Allianz, a global insurer and asset manager, has released(Opens in a new tab/window) a case study assessing its biodiversity impacts, risks and dependencies, based on samples of its investment portfolio. The assessment covered three types of asset classes – single-location assets, multi-location assets (corporates), and sovereign bond issuers, across Germany and Australia. The assessment highlighted a critical need for consistent and reliable biodiversity data disclosures by investee entities, including supply chain data, to assess biodiversity-related risks and opportunities in Allianz’s portfolio. However, it acknowledges that conducting small sub-portfolio scale assessments is a starting point for developing a systemic approach for integrating biodiversity in decision-making processes.