Mandatory Climate Reporting for ASX200 Group 1 Australian Companies 2025
From January 1st, 2025, Australia’s largest corporations are required to disclose their yearly greenhouse gas emissions across Scope 1, 2 and 3.
What Exactly is the Climate-Related Financial Disclosure Regime?
This move will align Australia with emerging global best practices in mandatory climate reporting. In the broader climate context, this is a significant win. In Australia, nearly 30% of overall emissions come from industry. And the first step to reducing business emissions is understanding where they come from.
Watch the video to understand what this actually means for business and how JET Charge can assist with the transition. JET Charge’s co-founder Ellen Liang and Kilara Group’s Jodi York share their sustainability expertise to break it all down.
Want to stay ahead of the legislation changes and simplify emissions reporting for your fleet?
Download our comprehensive guide now to see how JET Charge+ can help!
Background and Overview
The Australian government has taken a significant step towards improving financial market infrastructure by introducing legislation that mandates climate-related financial disclosures for certain organisations. This move is designed to promote transparency and accountability, aligning with global best practices in Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) considerations.
The Treasury Laws Amendment (Financial Market Infrastructure and Other Measures) Bill 2024, which was passed by the Senate on 22 August 2024 and received royal assent on 17 September 2024, is at the heart of this initiative. This Bill requires specific organisations to include mandatory climate-related financial disclosures in their annual reports starting from 1 January 2025.
A pivotal player in this development is the Australian Accounting Standards Board (AASB), which has been instrumental in crafting the Australian Sustainability Reporting Standards (ASRS). These standards will provide a clear framework for reporting entities to disclose climate-related financial information, ensuring consistency and reliability in the data reported. The ASRS is expected to be finalised and released soon, offering detailed guidance to organisations on how to meet their reporting obligations.
“This might feel new to Australians, but it is actually just bringing Australia in line with emerging global best practices. It means we’ll be able to develop and international baseline of where we’re actually at with businesses on decarbonisation and require organisations to figure out the tools they have for getting closer to their targets.”
Jodi York, KILARA Capital Cheif Impact Officer
Key Features and Requirements
The mandatory climate-related financial disclosures regime introduces several key features and requirements that reporting entities must adhere to:
- Sustainability Report: Organisations are required to prepare a comprehensive sustainability report that includes detailed climate-related financial disclosures. This report must be lodged with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) as part of the entity’s annual reporting obligations.
- Climate Statement and Notes: The sustainability report must contain a climate statement, notes to the climate statement, and any additional statements prescribed by regulation. This ensures that all relevant climate-related financial information is transparently disclosed.
- Directors’ Declaration: A crucial component of the report is the directors’ declaration, which confirms the accuracy and completeness of the climate-related financial disclosures. This adds a layer of accountability and ensures that the information provided is reliable.
The regime applies to a broad spectrum of organisations, including large proprietary companies, listed companies, disclosing entities, registered schemes, and companies limited by guarantee. These entities must meet specific criteria, such as size thresholds, National Greenhouse Energy Reporting (NGER) reporters, or asset owners, to be required to prepare a sustainability report.
Disclosure and Materiality
The regime emphasises the importance of disclosing climate-related financial information that is material to the business. Materiality is determined based on the entity’s size, industry, and the specific climate-related risks and opportunities it faces.
The Australian Sustainability Reporting Standards (ASRS) provide detailed guidance on how to disclose climate-related financial information. This includes the use of scenario analysis and sensitivity analysis to assess the potential impact of different climate-related scenarios on the business. Additionally, reporting entities must outline their risk management strategies and processes for managing climate-related risks.
This mandatory climate-related financial disclosure regime represents a significant advancement in how Australian businesses report on climate-related financial information. By promoting transparency and accountability, it enables investors and stakeholders to make more informed decisions regarding climate-related risks and opportunities, ultimately contributing to a more sustainable financial market infrastructure.
How JET Charge can support businesses to navigate Scope 3 Emissions?
A company’s transport emissions are a big part of scope 3. In Australia, road transport – whether it’s what we do with our own cars when we’re not at work, or getting things from place to place – is close to 20% of our total emissions.
Through the experience of deploying 12,000 chargers JET Charge has developed an industry-leading JET Charge+ Charging as a Service product, which makes it simple to reduce and track emissions from transport.
Electrifying Your Fleet with JET Charge+
Fleet electrification doesn’t have to be a daunting process. JET Charge’s Charging as a Service product JET Charge+ is a one-stop shop, subscription-based solution for companies who want to electrify their fleet.
As part of our monthly reimbursement report, companies receive comprehensive carbon abatement data, making it easier to measure your impact.
Want to stay ahead of the legislation changes and simplify emissions reporting for your fleet?
Download our comprehensive guide below now to see how JET Charge+ can help!
Download our comprehensive guide now to see how JET Charge+ can help!
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