As climate-related risks increasingly shape enterprise value, Nordic companies are seeking better tools to navigate emerging regulatory landscapes. On September 18th, the Climate Accounting Symposium brought together researchers, industry leaders and sustainability professionals at Hanken School of Economics in Helsinki. The symposium created a space for dialogue between academia and business, offering fresh perspectives on how Nordic companies can respond to evolving climate reporting standards and embed resilience into their strategic planning.
The event was anchored by the launch of a new research report, developed by Hanken researchers and funded by the NASDAQ Nordic Foundation. The report explores how both physical and transitional climate risks can be translated into financial metrics and how they impact enterprise value. Through keynote presentations, panel discussions and informal exchanges, participants explored how climate-adjusted valuation can serve as a bridge between sustainability and financial strategy.
The Climate Accounting Symposium joined Hanken’s SDG week and Zero Emissions Day to remind of the collective effort required to combat climate change across all sectors of society.
Launching the Climate-Adjusted Enterprise Valuation Report
As part of a research initiative supported by the NASDAQ Nordics Foundation, Hanken researchers have developed the Climate-Adjusted Enterprise Valuation report, “TCFD Climate Scenarios and Company Valuation: Insights from IFRS Climate Disclosures & Econometric-Financial Modeling”. The report provides Nordic companies with a practical way to bring climate risk into the heart of financial planning and reporting, connecting sustainability and strategy with financial performance.
Built on the TCFD framework and aligned with the ESRS and IFRS sustainability standards, the report shows how climate risks, both physical (like extreme weather) and transitional (such as policy changes or shifting market expectations), can directly affect financial statements. These risks are not abstract. Rather, they show up in asset valuations, depreciation, and even contingent liabilities.
One of the report’s key contributions is its comparison of enterprise value under different climate strategies. Companies that actively invest in climate resilience, be it through infrastructure upgrades, energy efficiency or compliance, are better positioned to access capital, tap into new markets, and maintain long-term value. In contrast, companies that delay or ignore climate risks face higher strategic uncertainty and lower valuations over time.
In short, the report makes a strong case for integrating climate risk into core business decisions. This encompasses not just compliance, but to also protecting and growing enterprise value in a rapidly changing world. Ultimately, the report advocates for a more transparent, comparable and forward-looking approach to sustainability reporting. Management, investors and regulators should all be empowered to make informed decisions in a climate-constrained economy.
Keynote insights: Climate risk as economic reality and regulatory imperative
The keynote presentations offered a compelling overview of how climate change is reshaping both macroeconomic dynamics and corporate governance. Prof. Dr. Stefan Fink, Chief Economist at KPMG Austria & CEE, opened the session by reframing climate change as a present-day economic variable, no longer a distant concern, but a force already embedded in financial systems, supply chains, and strategic planning. His central message was clear: climate risks must be treated as core business risks, not peripheral CSR concerns.
Drawing on insights from the NASDAQ-sponsored research initiative, Prof. Dr. Fink emphasized the need to translate climate data into actionable tools for corporate decision-makers. He argued that early transition strategies can unlock macroeconomic opportunities, particularly in advanced economies where growth impulses are more readily captured. However, he cautioned that rising temperatures, especially in regions such as Asia, Europe, South America, and Africa, pose significant threats to productivity and long-term stability.
Fink outlined six macroeconomic risks identified by the International Monetary Fund that are increasingly relevant to corporate planning. These include the fiscal sustainability of climate transition investments, supply chain vulnerabilities due to extreme weather, and energy market volatility as economies shift away from carbon-intensive systems. He also highlighted the inflationary effects of climate change, particularly through food price shocks, which disproportionately impact lower-income populations. Financial instability and declining labor productivity were presented as further consequences of inaction.
His presentation underscored the urgency of embedding climate risk into operational and financial frameworks. Companies that do so not only mitigate future costs but also position themselves to seize strategic opportunities in a rapidly evolving economic landscape. As Fink put it, “There are real economic effects of climate change, and the core of the NASDAQ project is bringing this to corporate decision-making level.”
In the second keynote, Prof. Dr. Othmar Lehner, Director of the Center of Accounting, Finance and Governance at Hanken and advisor to EU DG FISMA, provided a strategic overview of the evolving regulatory landscape. He focused on the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS), noting that the EU’s ambition is to create a coherent and enforceable framework for sustainability disclosures. However, he warned that without complementary legislation such as the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), the CSRD risks lacking the enforcement mechanisms needed to drive accountability.
Lehner described ongoing efforts to simplify and streamline the ESRS, with revisions expected by late 2025. These changes aim to reduce complexity, align more closely with international standards like IFRS and GHG protocols, and make reporting more manageable for companies. A key shift is the use of materiality as a filter, allowing firms to focus only on disclosures that are genuinely relevant to their operations.
Despite these improvements, Lehner acknowledged the challenges posed by a fragmented and politically contested regulatory environment. He pointed to ongoing trilogue negotiations between the European Council, Parliament, and Commission, which are expected to continue into 2026, and noted growing tensions between European and U.S. regulators over the compatibility of IFRS-based sustainability disclosures with U.S. GAAP requirements.
In closing, Lehner emphasized that even amid regulatory flux, climate risks remain material in the eyes of key institutions such as the European Central Bank. He stressed the importance of integrating sustainability into core governance and strategic planning, warning that companies must not wait for perfect clarity before acting. “Reporting requirements,” he noted, “are not just about compliance, they’re about focusing attention and driving development.”
Industry perspectives from the panel: Sectoral insights into climate strategy and reporting
Following the launch of the report, a panel of experts from logistics, real estate, food production, and finance explored the systemic challenges and strategic opportunities of climate strategy and sustainability reporting. The discussion revealed how climate risks are increasingly understood as interconnected forces that cut across industries, reshaping operational priorities, investment decisions, and regulatory engagement.
A central insight was the recognition that climate risk is not confined to sectoral silos. Logistics, for example, is a foundational enabler of industrial and consumer economies, and its decarbonization is often a first step in corporate climate action. Yet the transition is far from straightforward. As Anna Storm, vice president, sustainability and stakeholder relations at Posti Group, noted, “Even in a digital world, logistics is physical. Infrastructure vulnerabilities and customer dependencies make it hard to move fast enough.” She emphasized the difficulty of choosing the right technologies at the right moment, underscoring the investment risks that ripple across supply chains.
In real estate, climate risk is increasingly treated as a strategic concern. Pirkko Airaksinen, head of ESG at Sponda Ltd, highlighted that “climate change risks are a key topic for real estate,” and that scenario-based planning using TCFD recommendations has become essential. The sector’s exposure to physical risks like flooding and heat stress demands granular, location-specific data, which in turn affects insurers, financiers, and urban planners. The need for consistent and comparable data is becoming a shared priority across the built environment.
The food industry also faces distinct challenges, particularly in managing Scope 3 emissions and biodiversity impacts. Anna Nicol, director, sustainability strategy & reporting, at Fazer Group & Fazer Confectionery, pointed out that “getting Scope 3 data is difficult,” especially when working directly with farmers and suppliers. She described efforts of cooperation networks to build standardized and traceable data systems, such as Food Data Finland, that aim at reducing the bureaucratic burden on farmers while enabling more accurate sustainability reporting. “We’re building ways of working that don’t increase the administrative load on the farmers themselves, while allowing us to incentivize sustainable practices,” she added, noting the importance of supporting farmers with sustainability and biodiversity through farming programs.
From the financial sector’s perspective, climate risk is both a constraint and a driver of innovation. Elina Hokkanen, ESG lead & doctoral student at Hanken School of Economics, explained that “risk management is the core machine of the financial sector,” but integrating climate risks into that machinery is complicated by the lack of historical data and inconsistent disclosures. She emphasized the challenge of modeling risks when many companies, especially SMEs, are not subject to mandatory reporting. “If the companies driving the risks aren’t obligated to report, it becomes difficult for the financial sector to act,” she said. At the same time, she acknowledged the opportunity side: “There’s a lucrative market in ESG funds, but comparability is a problem when assumptions vary.”
Across all sectors, the panelists agreed that regulatory frameworks like the CSRD and ESRS are reshaping the landscape of sustainability reporting. These instruments are helping institutionalize climate strategy, but they also introduce significant administrative burdens. Anna Storm remarked that “Omnibus is a good example of policymakers having good intentions but not understanding how demanding these are for companies.” She noted that much of the time spent by sustainability professionals is now devoted to proving compliance, rather than driving innovation.
Despite these concerns, the panel emphasized that regulation can serve as a catalyst for internal transformation. Reporting obligations are increasingly seen not just as compliance exercises but as strategic tools for identifying risks, aligning incentives, and communicating value. As Elina Hokkanen put it, “Reporting requirements work as an internal wake-up call, they focus attention and drive development.” The challenge ahead is to ensure that these frameworks remain both rigorous and adaptable, supporting meaningful climate action while accounting for the diverse capacities and constraints across industries.
Looking ahead: From dialogue to action
The Climate Accounting Symposium made one thing clear: climate risk is no longer a distant concern, it’s a present and pressing factor in how companies create, measure, and protect value. As Nordic businesses navigate increasingly complex regulatory landscapes, the need for practical, forward-looking tools has never been greater.
As the climate challenge intensifies, so too must the collaboration between academia and business. Events like the Climate Accounting Symposium play a key role in bridging research and practice. By bringing together researchers, industry leaders, and policymakers, the symposium helped bridge the gap between theory and practice. The launch of the Climate-Adjusted Enterprise Valuation report also marks a step forward in equipping companies with the insights needed to align sustainability with financial strategy. The insights shared will help Nordic companies stay ahead of regulatory changes and build more resilient, climate-conscious strategies.
We invite researchers, industry leaders, and policymakers to connect with us and continue the conversation on climate-adjusted enterprise valuation. By fostering open dialogue and co-creating solutions, we can accelerate the integration of climate risk into financial strategy and governance.
Arawela Sovala
Doctoral student, Hanken School of Economics
