For the first time, the PLG held a roundtable on aviation, which brought together policymakers and experts to examine the sector’s crossroads between growth and climate obligations. Chaired by Ruth Cadbury MP, Chair of the Transport Committee, discussions highlighted policy trade-offs, investment barriers, and the need for a whole-system approach to decarbonising aviation while maintaining economic resilience.

This roundtable examined the collision between the UK’s AI ambitions and net zero goals. As energy-intensive AI scales rapidly, high electricity prices, grid constraints and limited transparency risk undermining competitiveness and climate targets. Chaired by Wera Hobhouse MP, participants argued for a joined-up national strategy aligning AI policy, energy infrastructure and skills to unlock AI’s genuine optimisation benefits.

Chaired by Martin Wrigley MP, the roundtable explored how UK corporate governance can better incorporate environmental and social factors into long-term decision-making. Guided by Wrigley’s Company Directors (Duties) Bill, participants discussed supporting boards to treat ESG considerations as opportunities to enhance resilience and value, beyond short-term financial pressures.

The PLG held its first sector-specific roundtable to examine how ESG principles can be embedded across construction, retrofit, and real estate. With the built environment responsible for 25% of UK emissions, the discussion focused on aligning frameworks to drive net zero and social outcomes. Building on a UKREiiF panel with Winvic Construction, key themes included fragmented standards, infrastructure barriers, and policy gaps, highlighting the need for better data, SME support, EPC reform, and local delivery capacity.

At UKREiiF in Leeds, Winvic, in collaboration with the PLG on ESG, hosted a panel on embedding ESG in the built environment, featuring Katie White MP. The discussion focused on how the UK can meet housing and infrastructure goals while delivering a decarbonised electricity grid by 2030. Panellists highlighted key barriers, including delays in the planning system, fragmented ESG frameworks, and the urgent need for grid reform. There will be a follow-up roundtable in Westminster this July.

With £3 trillion in assets, UK pensions could drive net zero and economic resilience, but the Pensions Investment Review lacks ambition on ESG. At this discussion, UKSIF shared recommendations to strengthen fiduciary clarity, regulatory certainty, and alignment with global standards to unlock sustainable pension investment ahead of the upcoming Pensions Bill.

In February, under pressure to prioritise competitiveness, the European Commission released Omnibus I to ease regulatory burdens. This roundtable explored how to position sustainability as a competitiveness driver through streamlined yet effective standards and how to simplify rules without compromising credibility, especially for SMEs, using tools like the VSME framework.

Clean energy features among eight growth-driving sectors in the government’s ‘Invest 2035’ modern industrial strategy green paper, released in October. Roundtable participants reached a consensus on the need to developa comprehensive framework encompassing established sustainability goals — net zero,social cohesion — together with ESG and geopolitical risks to achieve the strategy’s stated objective of “achieving sustainable, inclusive and resilient growth”

Despite the recent COP29 agreement’s commitment to triple annual climate finance for developing countries to $300bn by 2035 participants expressed concerns that a shifting geopolitical climate would affect investor attitudes, limiting spending.

Released in October 2024, the Review highlighted both the significant challenges and the vast potential of transition finance. McKinsey projects a £1 trillion opportunity for UK companies by 2030, but warns that urgent action is needed to maintain the UK’s competitive edge, as other markets are advancing quickly.

Participants at this roundtable of the Policy Liaison Group, chaired by Victoria Collins MP, acknowledged that while ESG disclosures have raised awareness, transformative incentives are key to driving systemic change. Bridging this gap will require bold policy decisions and a shift in business mindset, aligning profitability with sustainability to secure a resilient future.

The King’s Speech marked the new Labour government’s green agenda, with a strong focus on the energy transition and sustainability. This session of the PLG engaged with the government’s ambitions, exploring additional priorities as we look to accelerate the green transition.

The rising volume of group litigation cases puts pressure on boardrooms to prioritise ESG strategy and reduce exposure to risk. As group litigation evolves, questions around regulatory mandates, the risk of green hushing, and the ethics behind often massive third-party funding commitments will become more pertinent.

A range of factors leads to persistent confusion among investors and corporates, underlining the need for ESG reporting to be more targeted and specific. Regulation is supporting this transition, but there are questions around how best to harness value creation, and how to fill the “vacuum” between corporates (sustainability) and investors (ESG).

The group’s inaugural roundtable explored a diverse range of topics in the UK’s corporate governance landscape – reform, the regulatory scope of the FRC, changes to the Governance Code, and the review of the Stewardship Code. We were honoured to host Richard Moriarty, CEO of the Financial Reporting Council, and Peter Swabey, Policy and Research Director at the Chartered Governance Institute, who led the discussion.