On 23 August 2022, the FCA announced that it is establishing a new advisory committee to the FCA’s Board to work on Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) issues, and is looking for expressions of interest from stakeholders to join.

Earlier this year, the FCA Board decided to establish a brand new ESG Advisory Committee to help execute its ESG-related responsibilities. The Committee’s role will be to provide advice to the FCA Board on:

• How it executes oversight of ESG issues relevant to the FCA both as a regulator and its own operations.
• Relevant emerging ESG topics or issues.
• How the FCA should develop its ESG strategy, in keeping with the organisation’s statutory objectives and regulatory principles.

The Committee’s membership will include a small number of external experts who have in depth knowledge of ESG issues in the financial sector. Members will be appointed by the FCA Board in a personal capacity and will need to abide by a conflict of interest policy. The FCA does not expect people currently employed by FCA regulated forms to be appointable to the Committee.

The FCA expects the Committee to meet for the first time in Q4 2022, and normally quarterly from then onwards, but it can meet more frequently when necessary. The FCA Board will also select a Chair of the Committee and the FCA will provide secretariat support.