How accountants can put sustainability at the heart of business

Sustainability is a core business issue, shaping decisions on finance, strategy, risk and long-term value. As reporting standards evolve and organisations face growing pressure to explain their impact, Chartered Accountants (CAs) have a vital role to play in bringing credibility to sustainability information, challenging assumptions and helping leaders make better decisions.

At the ICAS Sustainability Summit 2026, Panel 2, How accountants play a key role in sustainability, will explore how CAs are embedding sustainability across business, connecting sustainability data with financial performance to drive long-term decision-making and create business value. 

Joining the discussion will be Laura Guittard, Vice-President of Global Finance Risk, Controls and ESG Reporting at GSK, Dr George Cobb CA, Director at We Are Salt Consultancy, and Martin Murray OBE CA, Finance Director at Swire Pacific. 

From ambition to action

For many organisations, the challenge is no longer recognising that sustainability matters. It’s working out how to embed it into the information, systems and decisions that shape the business.

The panel will explore how finance professionals can bring the same rigour they apply to financial matters to sustainability issues – from governance and controls to reporting and assurance. It’ll also consider how the profession’s strengths in measurement, risk and judgement can help integrate sustainability in mainstream decision-making.

As George puts it, the role of CAs is ultimately about giving business leaders the confidence in the information they rely on: “Nothing more, nothing less.”

We'll look at how sustainability influences investment decisions and the accountants’ role in areas like helping investors understand sustainability matters so that they can form a view on capital allocation, risk and value creation over the long term. 

Where Chartered Accountants can make a difference

The panel will delve into the practical question of where CAs can have the greatest impact. That could mean strengthening the processes behind sustainability data, helping boards understand what the numbers actually mean or bringing sustainability considerations into decisions. 

For Laura, the opportunity for CAs is clear. They have a direct role in measurement, controls and investment. For Martin, it’s about bringing sustainability into the same decision-making framework as other business risks, while keeping the focus on long-term value creation.

What's next for the profession?

The profession has many skills in demand in sustainability, and the panellists will share their views on how accountants will need to apply them in new ways. They’ll also consider the new technical knowledge that CAs may need to develop around sustainability reporting and ESG.  

CAs may increasingly need to challenge assumptions, ask questions and translate complex sustainability information into plain business language that boards and business leaders can use and understand. 

George’s view is that this may require people to go beyond the traditional boundaries of the profession. “What we measure is managed,” he argues – raising a bigger question about whether organisations are measuring enough of what matters to understand and manage their future.

Hear from the people putting it into practice

Between them, Laura, George and Martin bring experience across global finance, sustainability reporting, risk and corporate decision-making. They’ll offer their perspectives on how CAs play a key role in sustainability and how they can shape what happens next. 

Their conversation will be part of the ICAS Sustainability Summit 2026, bringing together leading voices from business, finance and sustainability to explore how organisations can create long-term value. 

The ICAS Sustainability Summit 2026 takes place on 7 October at Dovecot Studios, Edinburgh, and online. The event is free for ICAS students and members.