Lauren Pesa, partner, real estate sustainability, climate and equity leader at Deloitte, participated in a video interview at Nareit’s REITworks: 2023 Conference in Las Vegas on June 28-29.
Pesa said that the SEC updated its agenda in June to note that its proposed climate rule should be released by October, but that it could come out at any time before then.
“The SEC is looking to find what we call inter-operability so that folks that are having to tackle multiple regulations and standards at the same time that have overlap…can find as much synergy as possible,” she said.
Pesa said Deloitte advises clients on two “no-regret” actions they can take now to prepare for the SEC rule: prepare under the framework of the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), which is likely to be very similar to the SEC rule; and prepare a greenhouse gas emissions inventory, since Scope 1 and 2 will inevitably be included in the rule.
“Take a look at what jurisdictions you operate in and figure out what regulations that are either final or proposed [that you will] have to contend with in that environment,” she added.
Pesa added that she’s seen tension between the sustainability and controllership functions at some of the companies she works with because controllership “has a different mindset around the rigor of data.”