Welcome to the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG).
The APPG on ESG plays an important role in helping the Government meet landmark policy objectives such as net zero, combatting modern slavery and improving corporate governance.
Chaired by Alexander Stafford, Conservative MP for Rother Valley, the APPG delivers cross-party policy recommendations and guidance to help businesses account for their environmental and social risks and impacts, ensuring investors are better informed for the benefit of society, the environment, and the UK economy.
As the APPG focuses more on the social aspects of ESG, we were honoured to have Luba Nikulina attend our roundtable to discuss the DWP’s ‘Social Factors’ Taskforce. The discussion revolved around how the ‘E’ and the ‘S’ work together, modern slavery, disclosures, and the need for more work on the social pillar of ESG.
The APPG discussed the array of policy initiatives outlined in the recent Green Finance Strategy to transform the UK into the world’s first net zero financial centre. Key topics included the forthcoming UK Green Taxonomy, the recently announced ESG ratings consultation, and the UK’s approach to steering the global green finance agenda.
Nitika Agarwal, from WWF, and Paddy Arber, from Aviva, discussed an additional “climate and nature” objective in the FSMB, which would influence financial regulators’ policymaking, supervision and guidance, potentially transforming the financial services industry and the broader economy. A weaker “net zero” regulatory objective appears in the Bill as it currently stands. However, WWF, Aviva, and their partners believe a climate and nature regulatory principle must feature to ensure the transition to a greener economy.
The APPG has published this report to aid parliamentarians’ understanding of ESG with the aim of injecting momentum into the UK Government’s policy agenda, which should, in the group’s view, include a dedicated ESG strategy. The report was based on roundtables of the APPG over the last twelve months, supplemented by insight provided by the group’s Advisory Board and secondary research. The publication features case studies from BAE Systems, CBRE Investment Management, ESG Book, greenpeople.earth, and KPMG UK.
The report provides a straightforward definition of ESG, adding context to the major drivers behind its growth and addressing the key topic of materiality. The report also seeks to highlight ESG’s capacity to align public policy objectives with commercial ones, providing insight into the need for Government intervention to ensure ESG data is accurate and comparable.
Minutes of the APPG on ESG’s Annual General Meeting, Wednesday, 8 March 2023, 11.00am.
Kevin Hollinrake MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Business and Trade, attended the APPG’s roundtable discussion on overcoming ESG-related challenges for small and medium-sized businesses. With SMEs accounting for 99.9% of businesses in the UK, many of them facing ESG disclosure requirements, it is incumbent on policymakers to tackle the barriers they face, as SMEs increasingly look to larger corporates for guidance and resources.
Alexander Stafford is the Conservative MP for Rother Valley. He was elected to Parliament in December 2019, founding the APPG on Environmental, Social, and Governance in June 2021. As Chairman of the APPG on ESG, Alexander hopes to help Britain become a world leader by engaging cross-party politicians with British business leaders, NGOs, regulators, and other key stakeholders, collectively helping to sustain ESG’s progress.
