At the recent Institute of Chartered Accountants of the Caribbean’s 40th Annual Conference, PwC Bahamas Advisory Leader, Kevin Cambridge, joined a stellar panel line-up to discuss ‘Expectations for ESG’ including the new mandatory ESG reporting standards from the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB). Issued on Monday, ISSB published its first twofinalised standards: S1 General Requirements for Disclosure of Sustainability-related FinancialInformation; and S2 Climate-related Disclosures. The new standards are a part of a global trendtransitioning from voluntary to mandatory reporting.

When speaking at the conference for PwC in the Caribbean, Kevin said, “With pronouncementshanded down from the likes of IFRS the question then is, what will now be codified in localregulations? The answer is that we need to come together. Individually we - governments andbusinesses - are looking at the world through the lens of our own country, The Bahamas, Barbados,Jamaica, Trinidad etc. It’s not as impactful to think individually when you sit across the table and havevery targeted regulatory discussions that ultimately impact all of us across the Caribbean and theglobe.”

The standards are intended to be the foundation for a comprehensive global baseline of sustainabilitydisclosures specifically focused on the needs of investors and the financial markets. These should bewelcomed by investors and businesses given the complex reporting landscape. For many businessesacross the Caribbean that are in the infancy of their sustainability journey, now is the time to begin theprocess. For businesses more advanced that have already adopted industry specific and Task Forceon Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) recommendations, they will be in a great place toapply IFRS S1 and IFRS S2.

As well as the new standards, the panel discussed more broadly the impact of excluding SustainableDevelopment Goals (SDGs) as an investor and business - there’s a mutual dependency. Kevincommented, “An investor or company choosing to invest that doesn’t show, prove, or are simply notbeing strategic by incorporating SDGs into their business, will find themselves being unable to investin certain opportunities. This also complicates matters as the question then becomes…how do youmeasure, benchmark and report the ESG framework? If businesses want to add value, they mustmake both social impact and SDG alignment a part of their core business.” Businesses that take anactive role in leading this transformation and position SDGs at the heart of operational decisions willbe better placed to harness emerging market opportunities, manage risks and achieve a Net Zerofuture.

PwC has committed to transforming its business model to decarbonise its value chain, increasingtransparency, and supporting the development of robust ESG reporting frameworks and standards.The PwC network is also engaging its clients and suppliers to support them to tackle their climateimpact. Kevin concluded, “At PwC we believe ESG has to be a priority for every government andbusiness across the Caribbean.”