SDR 

Please see our SDR page for an overview of the SDR rules – and some practical application tips 

Also see our blogs and event videos for additional recent links and regulatory news.

NEW – legal opinion on Fiduciary Duty

Net Zero Lawyers Alliance Fiduciary Duty report, November 2025

The following links are for further information only – the list may not be comprehensive and some items will not be current (some are intentionally historic).

Direct links to key sustainable investment related regulatory rules and announcements

• FCA Updates:  FCA’s responses to SDR related queries
• https://www.handbook.fca.org.uk/handbook/ESG/
• Portfolios – 29 April 2025 – statement pausing work
• FCA announces climate reporting rule reviews August 2025
• Labelling link to share with clients information about labels
• FCA climate adaptation report January 2025
• https://www.fca.org.uk/firms/overseas-funds-regime-update-firms#revisions Overseas fund regime update July 2024
• FCA anti-greenwash announcement and portfolio consultation link April 2024
• BSI PAS7342, published in March 2025, describes ‘good practice’ in the ‘design, implementation, monitoring and communication of sustainability attributes’ for retail funds. You can download the specification here.
• 02 February 2024 SDR clarification  https://www.fca.org.uk/firms/climate-change-and-sustainable-finance/sustainability-disclosure-and-labelling-regime 
• 28 November 2023 SDR policy statement (new rules)  PS23/16: Sustainability Disclosure Requirements (SDR) and investment labels | FCA
• FCA ESG Handbook – (sourcebook updated post SDR) eg:
  • 5.1, 5.2 & 5.3 Preparation of sustainability disclosures
  • 5.4 Labels 
  • 5.5 Sustainability product reporting
• FCA welcomes ESG ratings and data provider code of conduct December 2023
• FCA Regulatory Initiatives Grid 30 November 2023
• SDR Policy Statement 28 November 2023
• FCA concerns about firms embedding ESG & Sustainability principles November 2023
• FCA summary page – with overview of and links to FCA and related activity – Climate Change and Sustainable Finance (last updated April 2023)   
• FCA Financial Lives Survey (FLS) https://www.fca.org.uk/data/fca-outcomes-metrics
• HMT ESG Ratings consultation (March 2023) – Regulation confirmed 6 March 2024
• FCA occasional paper on SDR – October 2022
• FCA ESG Handbook
• FCA Consumer Duty 2023
• UK Government Green Finance Roadmap 2021
• FCA welcomes code of conduct for ESG ratings providers

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• Climate Change Committee report critical of UK progress   (June 2023)
• ISSB – first sustainability standards launched (June 2023)
• UK Green Finance strategy (revised)  (April 2023)
• FCA outlines view on ESG benchmarks  (March 2023)
• Treasury ESG ratings consultation   (February 2023)
• SRI Services SDR response  (January 2023)
• SRI Services SDR explainer video (January 2023)
• FCA publishes consultation on disclosure requirements and proposes new rules to tackle greenwashing (25 October 2022)
• FCA paper on ESG Integration in capital markets 
• FCA opens consultation over proposed sustainability disclosure requirements (3 November 2021)
• FCA publishes Climate Change Adaptation Report (28 October 2021)
• FCA announces guiding principles on design, delivery and disclosure of ESG and sustainable investment funds (Dear Chair letter) (19 July 2021)
• Climate Change Committee publishes their Independent Assessment of UK Climate Risk (16 June 2021)
• Tom Gosling Investing for Good blog (29 March 2021)
• UK Green Horizons ambitions overview. UK Govt announces green bond for 2021. UK Govt commits to mandate TCFD by 2025, PRA to start climate stress tests June 2021. “On the road to Glasgow, we will focus on the three Rs – reporting, risk management and return – to help unlock the private financial flows that are vital to the transition,” said Carney. (10 November 2020)
• Investment Market review – Investment Association annual review
• Follow COP26 progress here – rescheduled to 1-12 November 2021 (Glasgow)
• UK government adopts CCC recommendation of ‘net zero carbon emissions by 2050’ (June 2019)
• New DWP pension trustees rules require schemes to say how they take ESG issues & climate change into account in SIP – plus how they undertake stewardship & consider additional ‘non financial matters’ (October 2019)
• ‘External’ Finance industry link and events of  note (including ‘archive’ links)
• Climate Change – Carbon Tracker Initiative
• ESMA issue technical advice to the European Commission on integrating sustainability risks and factors in MiFID II (April 2019)
• UK launches Green Finance Strategy & GFI announces plans to collaborate with UKSIF (July 2019)
• FCA & PRA form Climate Financial Risk Forum (March 2019)
• Bank of England climate change resource area here
• Pension Actuaries Climate Risk warning letter

Additional 2023 UK reports of note

• Carbon Tracker – Loading the dice against pensions  / (July 2023)
• EEIST – The Economics of Energy Innovation and System Transition
• Institute of Actuaries (IFoA) report Emperors New Climate Scenarios (June 2023)

International  & EU legislation, regulation, reports and norms 

• IAASB Proposed International Standard on Sustainability Assurance 5000 Approved for Public Consultation by Unanimous Vote (28 June 2023)
• TFND (Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures) releases v0.3 of the TFND framework (November 2022)
• WMO Publishes impacts of the eight warmest years on record (6 November 2022)
• UN Emissions Gap Report 2022 – The Closing Window (27 October 2022)
• White House publishes climate impact analysis of the Inflation Reduction Act. See also analysis published by the Democratic Party. (23 August 2022)
• European Commission EU taxonomy classification system regulation and updates
• International Energy Agency Flagship Analysis
• TCFD (Taskforce for Climate Related Financial Disclosure) recommendations
• EU Sustainable Finance Taxonomy (June 2019)
• ESMA Final Report on integrating sustainability risks and factors into MiFID ii (May 2019)
• GSIA (Global Sustainable Investment Alliance) biennial Global Market Report 2018 (published April 2019)
• EU Sustainable Finance Action Plan(March 2018)  Further info here
• Article 173 (French Energy transition law) FIR
• EU HLEG Sustainable Finance report (Jan 2018)
• UN Global Compact – principles
• UN Sustainable Development Goals
• EU Sustainable Finance Action Plan March 2018
• GSIA market report 2016
• Paris Climate Agreement reached to hold global temperature increases within 1.5-2 degrees C range (December 2015)

• Mark Carney, Governor of the Bank of England  ‘A New Horizon’ speech 21/3/2019)
• Al Gore at PRI in Person San Francisco 2018
• Resource and Environment Practical Guide for Pension Actuaries 2017
• Taskforce on Climate Related Financial Disclosure (TCFD) – including link to Mark Carney’s ‘Breaking the tragedy of the horizons’ speech.
• Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC) also see ClimateAction 100+
• Latest climate report

For information on fund performance see:

• Trustnet – for financial & performance data
• interactive investor ethical fund list (launched September 2019)

Other useful information sources of information about ethical, social and environmental issues include:

• WWF ‘Our Planet Our Business’ video
• Mega Online (published by Pictet) for thought pieces on major issues and trends
• ‘Good With Money’
• Good Money Week ‘consumer’ research
• Good Money Week ‘Women and Investment’ report 2018
• The Guardian –The climate crisis explained in 10 charts (19 September 2019)

Information on pension options from external sources:

• NEST ethical pension option
• NEST responsible investment option
• The Pension Regulator – DC scheme governance guidance
•  Interim government response to Law Commission Report on Pensions and Social Investment Dec 2017
• ​Current pensions consultation

Information for charities

• Guidance – CC14 and further links here