Investors Agenda overhauls ICAP Expectations Ladder 

July 25th, 2023

Sustainability advocacy group Investors Agenda has updated its Investor Climate Action Plans (ICAP) Expectation Ladder, with new measures including deforestation actions.

The ladder is designed to provide a framework to help all companies act on climate change, regardless of the point they have reached in their climate strategy. The ladder is divided into four tiers, from companies just beginning to think about climate change to those that are setting the standard for working to achieve net-zero.

The update has incorporated several changes, including the addition of deforestation actions which Investors Agenda called “critical” to an effective climate action plan. United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) has endorsed the update to the ladder.

Changes have also been made to the focus areas, which include target setting, risk management, and asset allocation, as well as the sub-focus criteria across all four tiers, in line with the latest science and guidance.

The seven founding partners published the update to the ladder to ensure it aligns with the latest approaches, existing frameworks and ICAPs guidance.

These partners are: Asia Investor Group on Climate Change (AIGCC), Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), Ceres, Investor Group on Climate Change (IGCC), Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC), Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) and United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI).

To make use of the ladder, companies self-assess which tier they belong in and then ICAP provides them with corresponding guidance on changes they can make.

CDP head of capital markets, North America and Investor Agenda Steering Committee member, Pratima Divgi, said: “CDP welcomes the updated ICAP Expectations Ladder, a refreshed framework that will guide investors’ climate action and enhance their ability to scale their climate-related commitments, including early action on deforestation.”

Investors Agenda, which launched in 2018, also called on governments to mandate climate transition commitments in 2022, coordinating a coalition of asset managers representing $39trn in capital.