Implementing the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures Recommendations: An Assessment of Corporate Readiness

Abstract

We conducted a type of “field experiment” in September 2017 to evaluate how difficult it will be for companies to implement the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD). We examined the disclosures of 15 of the largest oil & gas companies by market cap that had filed a 10‑K or 20‑F in 2016, so before the TCFD’s recommendations were published. In general, we found reporting for that year uneven, with some TCFD categories fairly well covered and others not. We also found variation across companies, with most making fairly modest disclosures but some being fairly progressive in this regard. Significantly, we also found that most of the disclosures were in voluntary sustainability reports, not the financial filings required by statute and as recommended by the TCFD. Taken in the aggregate, at least one company was reporting on each of the 11 recommendations with one exception. This suggests that it is feasible for companies in this sector to follow the TCFD’s recommendations if they are interested in doing so.