Guernsey Sustainable Finance Week

On Thursday 21 September 2023 KPMG in the Crown Dependencies held a Fringe Event for Sustainable Finance Week at the Duke of Richmond in Guernsey.

The main topics disscussed were the current impacts of climate change, ESG reporting and regulation, and where Guernsey fits in.

The presentation was led by Natalie Finlayson, Advisory Associate Director at KPMG in the Crown Dependencies, who leads the on-island ESG Advisory team. Natalie has over 10 years’ experience with a deep knowledge of the asset management industry and specialises in listed investment funds, private equity, and how to harness ESG in creating long-term business value.

As part of the presentation we invited Isaac Kenyon; world record breaking eco-adventurer and published researcher, holding a Master of Science in Geoscience and founding Climate Explorers, an award-winning media house committed to uncovering climate solutions and restoring our planet's ecosystems. Isaac's adventures have taken him around the globe where he has seen some of the impacts of climate change first-hand and discussed the reality that Guernsey were facing at the time.

In addition, our experts discussed the new ISSB standards released early 2023, the impact they have on disclosure requirements, and the convergence of the various ESG regulations.

We were also joined by Andrew Mitchell, founder and CEO of Equilibrium Futures and Vice Chair of the Stewardship Council of the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures, TNFD. Andrew discussed why it is important that nature and the biodiversity crises is not overshadowed by the climate crises when we report on our environmental impact and where the new TNFD framework fits into this.