Publications

Our roundtable summaries, blogs, reports and consultation submissions draw on our discussions with policymakers to provide insights and recommendations, featuring evidence-based analysis and case studies that inform policy development across corporate sustainability and green finance. In 2024, we transitioned from an All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) to an independent Policy Liaison Group. Some of the materials featured below were published when the group functioned as the APPG on ESG.

  • Blogs
September 23, 2025

Why ESG should be reframed, not abandoned

Behind the headlines of backlash and “green fatigue,” investors, companies and regulators continue to embed sustainability into core business decisions. The real question is not whether ESG survives, but whether its current framing, often reduced to box-ticking, can deliver the resilience and long-term value demanded by a world of climate risk, social disruption and economic change.

  • Key takeaways
September 8, 2025

Mobilising Finance for Nature and Biodiversity

Discussions from this roundtable centred on sectoral transition pathways, the role of public policy in unlocking private investment, strengthening carbon and biodiversity markets, and creating investable pipelines. Participants highlighted the need for blended finance, local biodiversity funds, and frameworks that ensure credits deliver real, measurable benefits. Building resilience in key sectors, particularly food and agriculture, was seen as essential to achieving a nature-positive economy.

Creator: Sgt. Jan Dijkstra/Mediacenteum Defensie Copyright: Mediacentrum Defensie (MCD)
  • Blogs
July 15, 2025

Is ESG failing defence? Rethinking ethics, investment and national security

ESG and defence are sometimes considered incompatible, but they have been interlinked for years. As the defence sector grows, having this conversation will be vital.

  • Key takeaways
July 2, 2025

ESG in the built environment

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.
  • Key takeaways
May 29, 2025

UKREiiF Panel: ESG in the built environment

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.
  • Key takeaways
April 22, 2025

Sustainable Investment and Pension Reform

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.
  • Key takeaways
March 31, 2025

The European Commission’s Omnibus I

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.
  • Key takeaways
March 4, 2025

The UK Modern Industrial Strategy

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”
  • Key takeaways
January 21, 2025

Sustainable development in the Global South

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.
  • Key takeaways
December 16, 2024

The Transition Finance Market Review

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.
  • Key takeaways
November 26, 2024

CISL’s competitive sustainability report

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.
  • Key takeaways
July 16, 2024

ESG under Labour

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.
  • Key takeaways
May 13, 2024

Group litigation

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.
  • Key takeaways
April 29, 2024

The Future of ESG

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).
  • Key takeaways
March 25, 2024

Corporate governance

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.

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