A new survey shows a dramatic increase in the importance that institutional investors put on environmental disclosures, and the result should prompt companies to rethink how they report, says consultancy EY.
BHP Billiton has returned to the ranks of the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index, while Telstra is no longer classed as a regional sustainability leader.
BP has acceded to shareholder demands for greater disclosure of its carbon risks, while an Australian super fund has backed efforts to secure a US investigation of reporting by Chevron and ExxonMobil.
Banks and investors no longer automatically accept proponent and government assurances on environmental risk, and are now increasingly doing their own risk analysis on finance for major projects, according to the Investor Group on Climate Change.
NAB has become the first Australian bank to launch a climate bond, and the first bank globally to have a bond certified under the international Climate Bonds Standard.
A new Australian Conservation Foundation report says the nation's big four banks can't finance Galilee Basin coal projects while meeting their obligations under the Equator Principles.