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Audit Committee Frontier - Addressing Climate Change
Deloitte report reveals gap in climate progress among the world’s audit committees
Our new global report examines how audit committees are—or are not—addressing the climate challenge. This report is the first in a series, titled The Audit Committee Frontier.
The report has some fascinating, if not troubling findings:
- It is clear that climate strategy has to be integrated into corporate strategy to align the organization (65% said that the main internal obstacle was a lack of clear strategy)
- Nearly 60 percent of all audit committee members surveyed say they do not discuss climate on a regular basis, and nearly half do not consider themselves ‘climate literate’;
- Nearly half of all audit committee members indicated they do not believe that they are well-equipped to fulfil their climate regulatory responsibilities;
- 42% of audit committee respondents said that their organization’s climate response is not as swift and robust as they would like;
- A high 70% of respondents saidthat they have not completed a comprehensive climate change assessment, and just 18% of respondents said that their climate impact assessment is reflected in the financial statements.
The survey of audit committee members spanned 40 countries, and revealed several obstacles standing in the way, each of which point to a broader sense of uncertainty surrounding climate and sustainability in the boardroom.