Country鈥檚 biggest contractor could be asked to bring out new version of annual report
Balfour Beatty has been reported to the Financial Reporting Council 鈥� for not mentioning climate change enough in its latest annual report.
London firm Client Earth, a not-for-profit legal practise, said scant reference to climate change in Balfour鈥檚 annual report contravenes the contractor鈥檚 responsibility to report on business risks to its investors.
In a 35 page submission to the City watchdog, Client Earth said because of the amount of greenhouse emissions associated with sectors such as construction, the country鈥檚 biggest contractor is particularly exposed to climate-related financial risks.
It said: 鈥淏alfour Beatty鈥檚 business is materially exposed to the trends and risks associated with climate change and the low carbon transition.鈥�
But it said other than a 鈥渂rief discussion鈥� of reducing carbon output 鈥淏alfour Beatty provides no meaningful discussion of any risks or trends associated with [both]鈥�.
It added the firm had reported that it was taking measures to mitigate the risks of climate change. 鈥淗owever, no information or detail is provided about what these risks might be for Balfour Beatty鈥檚 business.鈥�
Client Earth said many of Balfour鈥檚 peers, including Vinci, Bam and housebuilder Barratt, have substantially addressed the issue of climate change, making Britain鈥檚 largest contractor 鈥渁 clear outlier among its peers鈥�.
The complaint will be dealt with by the Financial Reporting Council鈥檚 conduct committee, who can apply to court to compel a company to publish a new version of its report.
Client Earth also wrote to Balfour Beatty鈥檚 auditor, KPMG, asking them to clarify their position on climate change and financial reporting after they signed of Balfour鈥檚 annual report, which covers the 12 month period up to December last year.
In a statement the contractor said: 鈥淏alfour Beatty is fully committed to addressing climate change risk and continues to position sustainability at the heart of all that we do.鈥�
Our overall environmental performance and metrics are publicly available through our Annual Report and on our website and show that our carbon emissions are reducing as we continue to work actively to mitigate climate change risks.鈥�
No comments yet