From compliance to competitive edge: transition planning in action

Climate-related disclosures aren’t just about meeting regulations. They are a chance to build stronger, more resilient businesses.

Since New Zealand introduced mandatory disclosures in 2023, organisations have been learning how to go beyond reporting to show stakeholders that they understand their climate risks and opportunities and have credible plans in place.

In this webinar, we explored how transition planning can shift climate reporting from a compliance exercise to a strategic advantage. thinkstep-anz has supported Turners Automotive Group on this journey, helping to develop their scope 3 footprint and transition plan.

We heard from Aaron Saunders, Group Chief Financial Officer, and Simon Gould-Thorpe, Project Director – Climate Related Reporting & Sustainability at Turners Automotive Group, alongside Martin Fryer, thinkstep-anz’s Head of Strategy and Disclosures.

Watch the webinar replay, or scroll down for a summary

 

Here’s what we learned:

Five takeaways from Turners Automotive Group

  1. Focus where you can make a difference: Turners cut emissions by switching its company car fleet to hybrids and by importing lower-emitting vehicles.
  2. Manage your data well: Tracking scope 3 emissions meant handling huge amounts of data. Building data warehouses worked better than spreadsheets.
  3. Bring your board in early: Involving directors in workshops improved oversight and made approvals easier.
  4. Look for opportunities as well as risks: Transition planning uncovered growth areas like vehicle recycling and replacement.
  5. Choose the right partners: Working with practical advisors who know both reporting rules and business realities kept outputs clear and usable.

Five tips from Martin to get the most out of your climate-related disclosures

  1. Strengthen governance disclosures: Show how boards get the right skills and expertise to oversee climate risks and opportunities.
  2. Be open about scenario analysis: Explain which scenarios you use and why the results matter for your business.
  3. Match risks to planning timeframes: Link climate risks and opportunities to your financial and business planning horizons.
  4. Add detail to risk management: Go beyond process descriptions and explain the tools, methods and materiality assessments you use.
  5. Report a wider set of metrics: Don’t just measure greenhouse gas emissions. Include all material climate risks and opportunities to give investors useful comparisons.