It’s been easy for some corporations to reach for reasons not to act on climate change, or at least not to tell anybody what they’re doing. Not anymore.

At first glance, the "Investor Agenda" presented at the biannual Climate Risk conference in New York might seem full of bland platitudes. But the four-part plan includes a finite number of specific mandates that major asset owners and managers have agreed to make de facto requirements for the companies they invest in, which is effectively all companies.

For example, one plank commits the funds to “corporate disclosure in line with the final recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures,” the new bible for assessing climate risks. The task force was chaired by former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg under Mark Carney, governor of the Bank of England and chair of the Financial Stability Board.

Even more detailed sector-specific reporting is required “to enable investors to assess the robustness of companies’ business plans against a range of climate scenarios,” including those even more strict than the standard 2-degree Celsius model.

If accounting is destiny, such reporting will force a reckoning with the valuations of many companies. The new Agenda synthesizes the welter of reporting standards and initiatives so corporate executives know what they have to do.

Read the full article about pension funds pressuring companies on climate change by David Bank at ImpactAlpha.