Launch of the Taskforce on Inequality and Social-related Financial Disclosures (TISFD)

GENEVA, Sept. 23, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — A new global Taskforce has launched today to bring attention to the financial risks to companies and financial institutions of global inequality.

The Taskforce on Inequality and Social-related Financial Disclosures (TISFD) will develop a global framework for companies and financial institutions to include within their public reports more effective disclosures about impacts, dependencies, risks, and opportunities related to social issues, including inequality.

The Taskforce has the support of more than 100 organisations from across business, finance, labour, civil society and international organisations, and will be chaired by global leaders: Peter Bakker, Sharan Burrow, Arunma Oteh, and Gabriela Ramos. The Co-Chairs will lead the Taskforce’s Steering Committee to deliver on its goal of incentivizing business and financial practices that create fairer, stronger societies and economies.

“Access to high quality information about the effects of inequality will allow market participants to understand and better manage social risks,” said Peter Bakker, President of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD). “In the last decade we have seen how high-quality disclosures can make climate change an important part of financial decision making. We need to do the same for inequality and the social issues at its root cause.”

Arunma Oteh, academic at the University of Oxford and former Treasurer of the World Bank, added: “Given the catalytic impact to society and to other challenges such as climate, the TISFD will ensure that tackling inequalities is a top priority for the public and private sectors alike. It will not only bring to bear the power of global financial systems and collective action to establish universally accepted disclosure standards that champion transparency, but also redefine reporting in ways that ensure that social and inequality risks are adequately accounted for.”

Gabriela Ramos, Assistant Director-General for Social and Human Sciences at UNESCO, remarked: “Deep inequalities of income and opportunities in many countries around the world are preventing our societies to come together and address effectively other major challenges such as the climate, digital and demographic transitions. The Taskforce needs to elevate social and inequality disclosures as they also impact climate and nature-related risks. Together, this information will help ensure that every financial decision takes both people and the planet into account.”

Sharan Burrow, former General Secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), observed: “The TISFD has the potential to catalyse the shift to a fairer economy by enabling market participants to meaningfully report how they address impacts and risks to the human rights of workers, communities and consumers. Through the TISFD, we can help put people at the centre of the much-needed transition to a just and green economy.”

Looking ahead, the Co-Chairs will work with the Taskforce’s Steering Committee to take an inclusive approach to co-creating a disclosure framework that is market-usable, aligned with international standards on business conduct, and integrated with reporting standards. In doing so, the TISFD aims to enable meaningful and concerted action among market actors to mitigate the risks of social issues, including inequality, and to seize the significant opportunities that result from building fairer, stronger economies and societies.

To learn more about TISFD, please visit: www.TISFD.org.

Notes to Editors

The four Co-Chairs of the Taskforce announced today are:

Peter Bakker, President of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD)
Sharan Burrow, former General Secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC)
Arunma Oteh, academic at the University of Oxford and former Treasurer of the World Bank
Gabriela Ramos, Assistant Director-General for Social and Human Sciences at UNESCO

The Taskforce’s Founding Partners are a global coalition of companies, financial institutions, labour, civil society, and international organisations with a shared belief in the fundamental need for companies and investors to integrate social and inequality issues into decision-making, alongside climate and nature. To see the full list of TISFD’s Founding Partners, please visit: www.TISFD.org.

The Taskforce also published today its scoping paper, People in Scope, which outlines the vision, scope, governance model, and indicative work plan for the Taskforce. This document was developed by the Taskforce’s Founding Partners and informed by engagement with more than 1,000 stakeholders. This feedback has shaped the understanding of stakeholder needs and expectations regarding the disclosure of inequality and social-related risks and opportunities, and how this initiative can address them. The full document is available for download at www.TISFD.org.

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