The seven Founding Partners of the Investor Agenda have launched an updated Investor Climate Action Plans (ICAPs) Guidance that reflects changes to industry initiatives, adds further details on investment strategies and newly launched resources for investors. This Guidance is an accompanying document to the existing Investor Climate Action Plans (ICAPs) Expectations Ladder. Together, the ICAPs Expectations Ladder and Guidance are designed to help investors create credible and ambition-appropriate transition plans.
The 2024 ICAPs Guidance document highlights best practices for investors in developing and publishing ambitious climate action plans. It also helps investors self-assess which tier they are on along the ICAPs Expectations Ladder, understand the main actions they can take to strengthen their approach, communicate this information to colleagues, and navigate a growing number of climate-related investor initiatives and reporting expectations.
The ICAPs Guidance includes a set of resources to inform the development of ICAPs. This is not intended to be a comprehensive list of all tools and guidance but rather indicates the resources available.
Some specific updates to the ICAPs Guidance document include:
- new resources that recognize the shift of Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) monitoring to the IFRS Foundation’s International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB),
- amendments to the ICAPs tiers and focus to ensure synchronicity with the ICAPs Expectations Ladder,
- providing further detail on nuances to the investment strategies discussed throughout, and
- providing additional and updated resources in line with the latest science, guidance and publications.
The ICAPs Expectations Ladder was updated in 2023 to include new sub-focus criteria across different tiers and focus areas in line with the latest science and guidance. In addition, deforestation actions were laid out clearly throughout the tiers to ensure that ICAPs are as comprehensive as possible in their approach.
The updated Guidance complements the Ladder by sharing the latest tools and resources to help investors achieve their climate ambitions – regardless of where they are on their journey.
“ICAPs are becoming the standard roadmap for investors to lay out the actions they will take to meet their climate goals,” said Rev. Kirsten Snow Spalding, Vice President of the Ceres Investor Network at Ceres. “Together, the updated ICAPs Guidance on using the Expectation Ladder offers investors clear steps for developing robust, science-aligned transition plans. This guidance reinforces the importance of transparency and consistency across the industry, ensuring investors are well-positioned to navigate the evolving landscape of climate-related risks and opportunities.”
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About The Investor Agenda
The Investor Agenda is a common leadership agenda on the climate crisis that is unifying, comprehensive, and focused on accelerating investor action for a net-zero emissions economy. The founding partners of The Investor Agenda are seven major groups working with investors: Asia Investor Group on Climate Change, CDP, Ceres, Investor Group on Climate Change, Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change, Principles for Responsible Investment and UNEP Finance Initiative