Reflecting on a Year of Climate Risk Disclosure Preparation
As 2025 came to a close, Australia’s corporate landscape looked very different from just a year earlier. The introduction of mandatory climate-related financial disclosures under the Australian Sustainability Reporting Standards (ASRS) has reshaped expectations for transparency, accountability, and long-term resilience in Australia’s fragile climate landscape. For many organisations, 2025 marked their first real encounter with the depth and rigour of climate disclosure, an experience that has been equal parts challenging and catalytic.
At Schneider Electric, we have watched this shift closely, both as advisors and as reporters in our own right as a Group 1 Entity. The transition to climate-aligned reporting has forced companies to examine their business models, stress-test assumptions, rethink risk through
a long-term climate lens and challenge existing strategies. What began as a regulatory requirement has, for some, sparked a broader transformation in governance, strategy, and climate responsibility. But for many others, the journey is only just beginning.
Our work supporting organisations to prepare their first public climate disclosure has revealed a wide spectrum of maturity. For our own Schneider Electric disclosure journey, this exercise led to a significant amount of reflection, consultation on the depth required to meet the market’s expectation of our business and most importantly a mindset shift from conformist to opportunistic. While some businesses took a “let’s see how we go” approach, others engaged early and deeply, treating the exercise as an opportunity to understand and manage risk more holistically.
From our perspective, preparing climate disclosures has reinforced several key truths:
Firstly, climate risk is not a standalone exercise: Climate assumptions cascade into every part of the business: asset planning, capital allocation, supply chain decisions, and business strategy.
Secondly, engagement with auditors starts early, and never really stops: Interpreting evolving transition pathways, assessing the credibility of climate scenarios and data, and aligning assumptions across functions requires extensive cross-functional coordination.
The audit process has quickly become a year-round effort rather than a year-end activity.
Finally, clarity matters more than perfection: The market is still calibrating. Standards are maturing. Scientific inputs are evolving. Disclosing confidently in this environment requires balancing rigour with pragmatism, communicating transparently even when every answer is not
yet precise.
The global rhetoric about climate change and the oscillating ambitions we’re seeing across the Australian and international markets will undoubtedly continue to shape the evolution of the ASRS legislative framework. Our role as practitioners is to cut through the noise and focus on impact underpinned by the cumulative effect of responsible, measurable action. To complement our team of climate scientists, we bring expertise in translating climate risk into practical strategies that drive real-world outcomes.
Most importantly, our own experience reinforced what we often tell clients: this is not about reporting for its own sake. It is about building a credible and actionable understanding of climate risk, one that can withstand scrutiny and inform decision-making at every level of the organisation.
As we move into year two, the focus will inevitably shift from meeting minimum requirements to leveraging disclosures for strategic advantage. This pivot represents the real opportunity. The organisations that will thrive are not those that simply meet the minimum requirements, but those that use disclosures to strengthen resilience, sharpen strategy, and build trust with stakeholders who are increasingly climate-literate and data-driven.
The shift will not happen overnight, but the direction is clear. The organisations that embrace climate disclosure as a strategic activity today will be the ones shaping markets, attracting capital, and leading transformation tomorrow.
Book a consultation with our experts Michael Cox and Jessica Wilson to assess your ASRS readiness and identify opportunities for strategic improvement.