Webinar: Designing an Australian Sustainable Finance Taxonomy: key considerations for corporate treasurers

The ASFI Taxonomy Project was initiated as an industry-led initiative, working closely with government and regulators to develop an Australian Sustainable Finance Taxonomy.

Building on work done on sustainable finance taxonomies internationally, including by the EU, the Common Ground Taxonomy, Japan, Canada, New Zealand, the UK, ASEAN and in Singapore, the ASFI project has worked with experts and stakeholders across the Australian financial system and internationally to determine what a sustainable finance taxonomy should look like in Australia to ensure international credibility and inter-operability while reflecting the Australian economy and context.

In Dec 2022 ASFI released its recommendations for the design of an Australian Taxonomy for public consultation, which closed on 17 Feb 2023.

At this webinar, Nicole Yazbek-Martin, will unpack the key recommendations for the design of an Australian Taxonomy, drawing on the insights and lessons learned from international jurisdictions including around usability, and how a taxonomy could be relevant to to corporate treasurers including for 1) categorising and organising financial data in a standardised way 2) to assist with regulatory reporting requirements 3) to improve decision making and 4) risk management through assessment of company’s financial positions and exposure to ESG related risks. 

Nick Borrough will then discuss corporate experiences applying the EU taxonomy and how this experience can help inform and shape the development of Australia’s taxonomy, as ASFI engages with the Australian Government on the taxonomy development phase in 2023.

What is a sustainable finance taxonomy?

Sustainable finance taxonomies are a set of common definitions for sustainable economic activities. These can then be used to credibly and transparently define sustainable investments.

Taxonomies help to make it easier to identify opportunities, to create sustainable assets and activities and guide capital to support the achievement of Australia’s climate, environmental and social objectives. They also provide investors with confidence and assurance of sustainability claims, enabling comparability between investment products and portfolios and reducing transaction costs.

Details:

Date: Wednesday 22nd February 2023

Time: 12:30 PM – 1:30 PM AEDT

Delivery: Microsoft Teams (link to be provided by 4pm the day before, and 1 hour before)

Presenter:

• Nicole Yazbek-Martin – Head of Australian Sustainable Finance Taxonomy Project, ASFI

Cost:

ACTA Members: Free 

Non-Members: $110 (inc GST) 

Non-Member (Full Time) Students: $25 (inc GST)

INFINZ Members: $25 AUD (inc GST)