The board of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the conduct regulator for financial services firms and financial markets in the UK, announced today that it has established an ESG Advisory Committee, aimed at supporting the board’s oversight of ESG issues and advising on the FCA’s ESG strategy.

The launch of the committee marks the latest in a series of ESG-focused moves for the regulator, since the release of its ESG strategy late last year, setting out the regulator’s role in supporting the financial sector to drive positive change and contribute to the net zero transition. Recent announcements have included the establishment of a working group to develop a code of conduct for ESG data and ratings providers, and the release of proposed rules for investment product sustainability labels and disclosure requirements to address greenwashing risk.

According to the FCA, the new committee will help the board execute its ESG-related responsibilities, including meeting the Government’s expectation for financial regulators to integrate the UK’s climate goals in its decisions and actions, and providing guidance on relevant emerging ESG topics or issues, as well as views on how the regulator should develop its ESG strategy.

Appointments to the new committee include (source: FCA):

• Tom Gosling, Executive Fellow in the Department of Finance at London Business School and Executive Fellow at the European Corporate Governance Institute
• Catherine Howarth OBE, Chief Executive of ShareAction 
• Tim Mohin, former Chief Sustainability Officer for Persefoni AI and formerly Chief Executive of the Global Reporting Initiative
• Desiree Fixler, Founder of RYSN Consulting and Chair of VentureESG
• Sonali Siriwardena, Partner and Global Head of ESG at Simmons and Simmons, and;
• Harald Walkate, Senior Fellow at the Center for Sustainable Finance & Private Wealth (CSP) at the University of Zurich  

The committee will also include the FCA Chair, Director of ESG, and other Non-Executive Directors.