Focus on GFEC signatory: ICAS

Green Finance Institute / Sustainable Finance Education Charter / Focus on GFEC signatory: ICAS
ICAS is a professional body of 23,000 members who work in the UK and in more than 100 countries around the world.

Our Charter requires us to act primarily in the public interest and the ICAS Code of Ethics, by which all our members and students are bound, seeks to maintain the professional reputation of the accountancy profession. Many argue that this public interest responsibility must now include helping organisations to address the issue of climate change.

Who are ICAS’s Members?
Our members represent different sizes of accountancy practice, financial services, industry, the investment community and the public sector. Almost two thirds of our working membership work in business, many leading some of the UK’s and the world’s great companies.

Our existing skills and expertise help deliver and drive meaningful change and this is now being extended to the existential threats and challenges that climate change presents. Identifying material risks with financial consequences and providing the information needed to make decisions are the domain of the accountancy profession. Acting together with organisations of all types, we can help to deliver and drive environmental, social and economic sustainability.

How does green finance affect ICAS’s Members?
We recognise the key role of the accountancy and finance profession in helping to deliver on the UK’s Green Finance Strategy and are committed to playing our part in developing the skills and capabilities of our trained professionals as part of our contribution towards the transition to a sustainable economy, the UN SDGs and the Paris Agreement on Climate Action. Our profession can also play an important role in ensuring transparent and appropriate disclosure around climate related risks and opportunities, which in turn will help to maintain financial stability.
What is ICAS doing to support its Members?
The GFEC commits us in the short term to engage members on issues related to climate change and environmental issues finance and to encourage the adoption of relevant global and national standards, frameworks and guidance, including the Taskforce on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD).

In the medium term, we will engage with our key stakeholders, including policymakers, regulators, researchers and practitioners, to identify and promote impactful and effective best practices in green and sustainable finance and work with employers to integrate green finance into our initial and continuing professional development.

Green Finance Education Resources Available

June 2020 Launch of the Green Finance Education Charter
September 2020 Ethical Finance 2020 Summit
November 2020 Anne Adrain and Louise Pryor on the Green Finance Education Charter

Find out more about our support for the Green Finance Education Charter:

Alice Deakin, ICAS Executive Director, Learning, said:
ICAS is proud to be a signatory to this charter and is committed to developing the skills of our future chartered accountants in this area through our CA qualification.

ICAS is working towards embedding sustainability across the CA Syllabus and CPD offering in the medium term. As part of our Learning Transformation programme, we will be moving to a blended delivery model for learning and we are currently already running computer-based virtual exams.