Materiality was again in the spotlight recently with launch of IFRS sustainability disclosure standards S1 & S2. Whilst the standards were generally welcomed as a significant step in creating a global baseline for corporate sustainability disclosures grounded in the best practices of accounting standards it was seen as controversial in some quarters. In a large part this was due to its approach to dealing with materiality and more specifically ‘double materiality’ — something largely avoided in the standards according to critics. Proponents highlight the mantra that “what can be measured can be managed” when suggesting that focusing on single materiality / materiality should be the priority for disclosing organisations and is thus the focus of these standards. Double materiality encompasses not just sustainability risks which impact a company’s financial performance but the degree to which that company’s products and activities impact the wider world — a philosophy more adopted in European standards such as in the work of EFRAG.

It is critical that institutional investors take action to halt the global loss of biodiversity. In this session James Phare presented alongside UNPRI, UNEP-WCMC & Caisse des Dépôts Group practical guidance, data and software tools investors can use to identify and manage spatially explicit natural capital risks within their portfolios.

Shares in the maker of Pringles surged nearly 20% last week after Mars announced it was considering taking over the $27bn US food giant Kellanova to create a $60bn total revenue behemoth.