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This course provides professionals from financial institutions with a practical understanding of sustainability reporting, focusing on SGX requirements, the shift from TCFD to ISSB Standards, and MAS’s expectations on climate-related disclosures. Participants will learn key concepts, stakeholder needs, and regulatory developments shaping the ESG reporting landscape in Singapore.

Target Audience

Portfolio/Fund/Investment Managers, Brokers, Financial Planners, Financial Accounting, and Compliance Advisory.

Course Objectives

Upon completion of this course, participants will be able to:

  • Define sustainability reporting and understand its evolving significance for financial institutions.
  • Recognize the key stakeholders interested in sustainability reports from banks and financial institutions.
  • Identify the core elements and mandatory requirements for sustainability reporting by listed companies in Singapore (SGX).
  • Explain the transition of climate-related disclosures from TCFD recommendations to the ISSB Standards (IFRS S1 & IFRS S2).
  • Articulate MAS’s key expectations and guidelines regarding climate-related disclosures and environmental risk management for financial institutions.

Course Outline

Module 1: Introduction to Sustainability Reporting for Financial Institutions

1.1 What is Sustainability Reporting?

  • Definition and purpose
  • Brief overview of ESG factors
  • Why it matters for banks/financial institutions
    • Risk management
    • Opportunities
    • Reputation & Trust
    • Investor demand
    • Regulatory push

1.2 Key Concepts: Materiality

  • Definition of materiality in sustainability reporting
  • Single Materiality (Financial Materiality): Focus on financial impacts on the entity
  • Double Materiality (Impact Materiality): Focus on both financial impacts and the entity's impacts on society and the environment
  • Single vs double materiality: Why is this distinction important and increasingly relevant?

1.2.2 Stakeholders in Financial Services Sustainability Reporting

  • Who reads these reports? What information do they seek from banks' sustainability reports?

Module 2: Evolution of Sustainability Reporting and SGX requirements

2.1 Evolution of Sustainability Reporting

  • From voluntary disclosures to mandatory requirements
  • The global shift towards standardised, comparable data

2.2 SGX Listing Rules and Practice Note 7.6

  • Mandatory primary components of an SGX sustainability report
    • Material ESG factors
    • Climate-related disclosures
    • Policies
    • Targets
    • Framework
    • Board Statement

2.3 SGX's Phased Approach to Mandatory Climate Disclosures

  • Transition from TCFD recommendations to ISSB standards

Module 3: Overview of Climate-Related Disclosures and ISSB’s IFRS S2 Requirements

3.1 TCFD Recommendations: The Four Pillars that continue from TCFD into ISSB’s IFRS S2

  • Governance
  • Strategy
  • Risk Management
  • Metrics & Targets

3.2 Key Requirements Under IFRS S2

  • Emissions Disclosure
  • Scenario Analysis
  • Climate-Related Risks and Opportunities

3.3 Specific Relevance for Financial Institutions

Module 4: MAS Expectations and Guidelines for Financial Institutions

4.1 MAS Finance for Net Zero (FiNZ)

  • MAS's overarching strategy to position Singapore as a leading green finance hub
  • Four key pillars:
    • Data, Definitions & Disclosures
    • Climate-Resilient Financial Sector
    • Credible transition plans
    • Green and Transition Solutions & Markets

4.2 MAS Guidelines on Environmental Risk Management (for Banks):

  • Purpose and scope
    • MAS's supervisory expectations for banks in managing environmental risks
  • Key areas
    • Governance
    • Strategy
    • Risk Management
    • Metrics & Targets
  • Integrating environmental risks into core business and risk frameworks

4.3 MAS's Role in Driving ISSB Adoption:

  • MAS's commitment to referencing ISSB standards for financial institutions
  • MAS’s expectations regarding climate stress testing and transition planning

4.4 Key Expectations for Transition Planning

  • Engagement
  • Holistic approach
  • Climate-Nature Nexus
  • Transparency to Foster Credibility

4.5 Industry-Led Initiatives Supported by MAS:

  • Green Finance Industry Taskforce (GFIT)
  • Introduction to the Singapore-Asia Taxonomy for Sustainable Finance

Assessment – MCQ