Quantification in the boardroom: Navigating climate risks and opportunities

Overview

Navigating the quantitative considerations around climate-related risks and opportunities are emerging as one of the most important aspects of modern governance. Far from being just a compliance exercise, these are central to a board’s role in overseeing risk, allocating capital, and ensuring the organisation’s long-term resilience. They provide decision-useful insights into how climate change could affect an organisation’s financial position, performance, and cash flows, not in some distant future, but often with real and immediate implications.

Disclosure of anticipated financial impacts (AFIs) of climate-related risks and opportunities is a relatively new concept for many entities. However for directors, the challenge lies in moving beyond disclosure checklists to use information about AFIs as a core tool for strategic decision-making. This means understanding how to frame productive internal conversations, integrating AFI insights with climate scenario analysis, and weighing the trade-offs between short-term pressures and long-term positioning. It is about asking whether the organisation’s response to climate risk is proportionate to its potential financial impacts — and whether capital is being deployed in ways that both protect against downside risks and unlock transition opportunities.

In this Chapter Zero New Zealand webinar, Dr Amelia Sharman (External Reporting Board), Sanel Tomlinson (KPMG), Catherine Robertson-Hodder (KPMG), and Jenika Phipps (Financial Markets Authority) will bring complementary perspectives from regulation, modelling, assurance, and governance practice. They will discuss:

How the climate-related quantitative considerations, including AFIs fit into the wider governance and risk management framework
Practical ways to approach uncertainty and materiality without delaying action
Why AFIs matter for capital allocation, investor confidence, and long-term value creation
How to integrate AFIs with other financial information to inform boardroom discussions about strategic priorities and trade-offs
The role of AFIs in identifying organisational vulnerabilities and building resilience

This session is for directors who want to position AFIs at the centre of boardroom thinking — regardless of whether they have reporting obligations, to strengthen resilience, guide strategy, and navigate the transition to a low-emissions, climate-resilient economy.

Speakers

Sanel Tomlinson

Sanel has over 30 years’ experience advising clients across industries and geographies with a particular focus on matters affecting business from a finance and corporate reporting perspective. She leads the firm’s Impact Measurement initiative, and currently works with clients on their ESG reporting strategies and in particular implementing the Aotearoa New Zealand Climate Standards.

Before re-joining KPMG in New Zealand, she was the Head of Strategy for the External Reporting Board (XRB) and led the initial set up of the Climate Standards project, including acting as the interim Project Director.
Sanel was previously a partner at KPMG in New Zealand and in China. In these roles she led audit and assurance engagements, and advised clients on the implementation of international financial reporting standards and more recently sustainable/green finance and ESG regulations.

Sanel is passionate about inclusion and financial literacy and regularly engages in voluntary and/or not-for-profit initiatives. Sanel was one of the founding members of KPMG China’s Inclusion and Diversity Council and in 2019 Sanel was awarded KPMG China’s Chairmen award for services to the community.

Dr Amelia Sharman

Dr Amelia Sharman is Director Sustainability Reporting at the External Reporting Board (XRB), responsible for managing the execution and coordination of the climate-related disclosure framework for Aotearoa New Zealand, as well as the XRB’s wider sustainability reporting work programme. Dr Sharman has an extensive background in climate and sustainability policy areas, having held a range of project and policy roles across the public and private sectors in New Zealand and the United Kingdom. She has a PhD from the London School of Economics, an MSc from the University of Oxford, and an MA(Hons) from the University of Auckland. 

Jenika Phipps

Jenika set up and leads the FMA team responsible for the independent monitoring and enforcement of the NZ Climate related disclosure regime. She is a Chartered Accountant with a background in auditing and expertise in sustainable finance and climate related disclosures.

Judene Edgar CMInstD (Facilitator)

Judene is a Principal Governance Adviser with the Institute of Directors’ Governance Leadership Centre and Chapter Zero NZ lead providing research and best practice advice, guidance and advocacy for directors. She is also a trustee of the Rātā Foundation and Network Tasman Trust, and Chair of the Nelson Historic Theatre Trust.

Prior to joining the IoD she ran her own consultancy for over 20 years specialising in governance, policy, strategy and communications working across a wide range of sectors, including housing, health, solid waste, aviation, energy, not-for-profit and infrastructure.

She was a local government elected member for 12 years and a director on a range of private and public entity boards. She has a background in behavioural science and communications and is a Chartered Member of the IoD.

Additional information

Event sponsor

Event cancellation policy

Regrettably, registration fees cannot be refunded when cancellations are received within two working days prior to any event. See our standard terms and conditions for more information.

Contact

Gemma Fellowes
Project & Events Executive
+64 9 365 2736
Gemma.Fellowes@iod.org.nz