Our impact
Ceres has long advocated for mandating disclosure of climate risks and opportunities at every level of the capital markets—from stock exchanges to financial regulators to corporate boardrooms worldwide.
The Ceres Principles
Our track record of reframing the conversation around sustainability and pushing for systematic risk disclosure dates back to our founding, when a group of socially responsible investors, public pension funds, and major environmental organizations created the Ceres Principles, a ten-point code of environmental conduct for forward-looking companies that commit to continuous environmental improvement.
Launching the Global Reporting Initiative
We launched the Global Reporting Initiative, creator of the first global sustainability reporting standards, now used by tens of thousands of companies worldwide.
The Global Framework for Climate Risk Disclosure
Ceres and a group of fourteen institutional investors from around the world released the first statement on the disclosure that investors expect from companies: the Global Framework for Climate Risk Disclosure.
Founding the Climate Disclosure Standards Board
We co-founded the Climate Disclosure Standards Board (CDSB), an international consortium that works to align the mainstream corporate reporting model to equate natural capital with financial capital by creating a framework for reporting environmental information with the same rigor as financial information.
First-Ever Disclosure Guidance from the SEC
We rallied investors to successfully petition the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to issue the first-ever disclosure guidance for financial reporting of material climate-related risks.
The Investor Listing Standards Proposal
We developed the Investor Listing Standards Proposal, providing recommendations for integrating sustainability disclosure requirements into listing rules for companies traded on U.S. and global stock exchanges. The aim was to engage exchanges via the World Federation of Exchanges (WFE), which led WFE to launch recommendations for exchanges and issuers on enhancing their work on sustainability.
The Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures
Building on the baseline of climate risk reporting created by Ceres, GRI, the CDSB, and other leading organizations, the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) is founded. The TCFD develops global recommendations for climate-related financial risk disclosures for use by companies in providing information to lenders, insurers, investors and other stakeholders.
Climate Disclosure Standards
More than 500 investors representing nearly $40 trillion in assets under management called for governments around the world to strengthen climate disclosure standards, including by requiring mandatory reporting.
Victory in California
We rallied corporate and investor support that led California’s governor to sign landmark legislation, which set standards for climate risk and emissions disclosure for thousands of companies. We also supported the finalization of the climate disclosure standard by the International Financial Reporting Standards’ International Sustainability Standards Board, which nine countries have publicly announced their intention to adopt. These countries include, Singapore, Japan, Canada, Brazil, Egypt, Nigeria, Chile, the United Kingdom and Australia.
National Climate Disclosure Rule
After more than two decades of Ceres and our members calling on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to mandate robust climate reporting, publicly listed companies are now required to disclose their climate impacts and transition plans.
