Storebrand: Will make "gold standard" for climate reporting in the food industry

CEO of Storebrand and member of Nordic CEOs for a Sustainable Future, is one of two who have led the work on the insight report on climate reporting, which is published today.

Storebrand, together with a group of leading Nordic companies, will turn the TCFD's recommendations for climate reporting into a common global framework. They are now getting the government and the Oslo Stock Exchange on board.

The recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) have been adopted by companies, governments, central banks and financial institutions worldwide. The Nordic CEOs for a Sustainable Future group, in which Storebrand CEO Odd Arild Grefstad participates, recommends that all Nordic companies integrate the framework throughout the world by the end of the 2021 reporting year at the latest. The governments of Denmark and Sweden have already given their support to the TCFD, and today they are joined by Norway, which becomes the 12th government to endorse the Nordic CEO group's recommendation

- Good reporting is crucial for us to be able to assess the future profitability and risk of our investment portfolio. The demand for better climate data comes from investors all over the world - and if everyone reports to the same standards, it will be easier to make these assessments. It also represents a major financial risk for companies even if they fail to adapt to climate change, says Storebrand CEO Odd Arild Grefstad.

Launches TCFD guide Grefstad, together with Árni Oddur Þórðarsson, CEO of the Icelandic company Marel, has led the work on an insight report. The aim is to strengthen the TCFD as a common framework in the Nordic region, and the report is intended as a guide for small and large companies that want to get started with climate reporting. All members of Nordic CEOs for a Sustainable Future committed in 2020 to integrate the recommendations from TCFD into their climate reporting. The guide is based on the members' own experiences and input from external experts, such as the TCFD secretariat.

- The transition to a low carbon economy requires large private investments and represents both risks and opportunities for companies. Better and more comparable climate-related information from companies is therefore an important tool for both investors and regulators. In 2019, the Norwegian government approved the TCFD recommendations and communicated an expectation that large companies should report climate-related information in line with the TCFD framework. Today, we show our support by becoming an official supporting player, says Minister of Finance Jan Tore Sanner.

More support The announcement is welcomed by Mike Bloomberg, Chairman of the TCFD and founder of Bloomberg LP.

- This announcement helps to strengthen support for the TCFD recommendations in one of the most innovative and dynamic regions of the global economy and is an important step towards making the TCFD framework the global standard, says Bloomberg.

The Oslo Stock Exchange also supports the implementation of the TCFD as a common global framework for climate reporting.

- Supporting a faster transition towards sustainable finance is a key objective of Euronext's strategic plan, also for the Oslo Stock Exchange. We encourage our listed companies to implement the recommendations of the TCFD. Forward-looking and consistent climate reporting is crucial to effectively mobilise private capital towards a greener and more climate-resilient economy, says Øivind Amundsen, CEO of Oslo Børs and member of the board of Euronext.

About Nordic CEOs for a Sustainable Future The collaboration platform Nordic CEOs for a Sustainable Future consists of CEOs of some of the largest companies in the Nordic region who have joined forces in a shared commitment to integrate the UN Sustainable Development Goals into their respective business strategies. By exchanging experiences and exploring initiatives, the ambition is to accelerate the world's work on the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The initiative also creates a platform for dialogue on carrying capacity issues between Nordic prime ministers and CEOs. A key objective is to influence and bring about change through Nordic co-operation. The members of Nordic CEOs are the CEOs of Equinor, Marel, Swedbank, Storebrand, GSMA, Íslandsbanki, Finnair, Telia Company, Posten Norge, SAS, Schibsted, Yara International and Telenor Group.

About Storebrand

Storebrand's ambition is to provide our customers with financial freedom and security by being the best provider of long-term savings and insurance. Storebrand provides sustainable solutions tailored to the customer's life situation, so that each individual gets a better pension in a more sustainable world. Storebrand has about 40 000 business customers and 2 million personal customers, with headquarters in Lysaker outside Oslo. Storebrand manages over 987 billion kroner and is one of the largest private asset managers in the Nordic region. Storebrand (STB) is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange.

Visit us at www.storebrand.no and follow us on Twitter: @Storebrand_no