Why Corporate Sustainability Reporting Needs a Major Overhaul

Rhondda Cynon Taf Council has completed work on a pilot sustainable drainage scheme at Mill Street in Pontypridd – which has introduced green features to help reduce surface water flooding and divert it from traditional drainage systems in heavy rainfall. The pilot, which is fully-funded by Welsh Government, has introduced a tree pit and rain garden to provide an adaptive form of flood alleviation that improves the area’s aesthetics and biodiversity, and is also resilient for the future. The new rain garden is sized at 35m2, and will provide drainage for the surface water run-off from the nearby concreted car park, which is 1,085m2. Prior to the works, water run-off from this area would flow directly into the drainage systems – and it is hoped this will be reduced by up to 50% following the delivery of the pilot scheme.

While European regulators are this year rolling-out climate-change “stress tests” for lenders, the Fed lags its peers. Fed officials have previously said they are considering a new scenario analysis to help them understand how climate change may affect trillions of dollars’ worth of bank assets, but have not said how or when they would start to apply such tests.