New Zealand Climate Standards summary and disclaimer

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The New Zealand Climate Standards are sustainability reporting standards that are published by the New Zealand government.

The primary objective of the Aoetearoa New Zealand Climate Standards (NZ CS) is to facilitate investment in endeavors that align with New Zealand’s transition toward reduced greenhouse gas emissions and increased resilience to climate change effects. The Climate Standards apply to entities required to prepare climate statements or group climate statements pursuant to the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013 section 7(a).

This regulation is based on the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) framework and is strongly aligned with other international standards. In this sense, the Climate Standards require disclosure of what an entity is doing, but do not require an entity to take any action.

The Climate Standards are divided into three parts:

NZ CS1: Provides a structured approach for organizations to evaluate and address climate-related risks and seize opportunities associated with sustainability goals.
NZ CS2: Outlines a limited number of adoption provisions
NZ CS3.: Establishes principles and general requirements to enable the provision of high-quality climate-related disclosures.

The three standards are designed as a package and it is important that they are read together.

Additionally, the External Reporting Board has published Staff Guidance to help entities prepare their required climate-related disclosures.

Disclaimer

The Aotearoa New Zealand Climate Standards are published by the New Zealand government and can be consulted in the External Reporting Board Website.