Tag Archives: financial accounting

Now that the SEC has indicated that public companies should be considering climate change in evaluating financial risks, the pressing questions include what should be evaluated and how it should be reported.  ASTM’s newly released standard on Financial Disclosures Attributed to Climate Change, E2718-10 may be just the thing.  The standard, which has been under development for the last 2 years, provides guidance on processes for identifying,… More

As the reality of climate change begins to hit home – and as the economy continues to weaken – one issue that may ultimately prove critical in how we respond may be how corporations account for the financial impacts of climate change. Now ASTM is getting into the act. ASTM is working on a standard, titled “Financial Disclosures Attributed to Climate Change,” to provide guidance on the issue.

ASTM has something of a track record in setting environmental standards. Its guidance on doing Phase I site assessments has dictated practice in that area to the point that it was essentially written into EPA’s brownfields regulations. Time will tell whether the financial disclosure standard has the same impact.… More