Time for the ‘how’ to take centre stage
It’s London Climate Action Week 2025 which means that much of the news is indeed climate oriented, with numerous announcements dropping.
Let’s start at the London Stock Exchange Group’s Transition Pathways event where two leading voices in climate-related financial disclosure sounded a clear warning: it’s not enough to focus on what is disclosed. We must not overlook how it is disclosed. Mary Schapiro, Chair of the Climate Data Steering Committee (CDSC), and Sue Lloyd, Vice-Chair of the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB), stressed that machine-readable, structured data is crucial to realising the promise of sustainable finance.
Schapiro welcomed the progress made by the 36 jurisdictions who have decided to align with the ISSB baseline, but warned that digital accessibility remains overlooked. “The worst result would be for companies to do that disclosure, and not have the data easily accessible and discoverable by investors” she said. “Ready access to machine-readable data, clearly linked to a company via a mechanism like the LEI, and provided in a useful format, is essential. That’s not always specified in jurisdictional rules, which often focus on what is being disclosed, rather than how.”
Lloyd echoed this concern, pointing to how the ISSB swiftly published a digital taxonomy after finalising IFRS S1 and S2. “It’s surprising this hasn’t been more of a focus in jurisdictional discussions,” she said. “Structured data is still really, really important… we have the tools here, the standards, the digital taxonomy, the Net-Zero Data Public Utility, and together that is a really powerful combination.”
We know that there is a large and increasing appetite for high quality, consistent, climate related data – which is key to effective risk analysis and capital allocation. We also know how that data is consumed: overwhelmingly digitally. We already have the technical infrastructure: robust taxonomies, clear guidance, and a public platform for data access through the Net-Zero Data Public Utility (NZDPU). Yet many jurisdictions have yet to take that final, comparatively small step: mandatory digital reporting.
As Lloyd cautioned, ‘There’s a bit of rhetoric suggesting AI makes taxonomies unnecessary, but actually, structured data remains incredibly important. We strongly encourage the use of our digital taxonomy… to ensure information is truly accessible and usable.”
This is a crucial inflection point. As jurisdictions ramp up implementation of disclosure rules, ensuring digital implementation is no longer optional – it’s the backbone of comparability, accessibility, and usability. Without structure, even the best data risks becoming invisible.
Explore more insights and the full panel discussion here.
