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DWS whistleblower Desiree Fixler to join FCA’s new ESG advisory committee

Desiree Fixler, Founder of RYSN Consulting and Chair of VentureESG, is one of the new ESG committee members. Photo: Private

Martina Lindberg

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High-profile appointment to committee of six tasked with developing strategy.

Desiree Fixler, the former head of sustainability at DWS who brought forward greenwashing allegations against the company, has been appointed to the new Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) advisory committee set up by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

Fixler, and the other members of the committee, will help the Board with ESG-related responsibilities and issues. The work will involve meeting the Government’s target of achieving a net zero economy by 2050.

ESG strategy

Before the establishing the new committee, the FCA delivered new work and guidelines in line with the priorities set out with its ESG Strategy.

The new proposals involve measures to clamp down on greenwashing, the development of a Code of Conduct for ESG data and ratings providers, as well as the active monitoring of ESG-related business by firms and a review of climate disclosures by listed companies.

“We have also been an active participant in the Government’s Transition Plan Taskforce, helping to develop a draft framework and guidance for the design of transition plans,” the release statement said.

As announced in August, the new ESG committee’s role will be to provide advice to the FCA Board on:

  • how it executes oversight of ESG issues relevant to the FCA both as a regulator and our own operations;
  • relevant emerging ESG topics or issues;
  • how the FCA should develop its ESG Strategy, in keeping with the organisation’s statutory objectives and regulatory principles.

Advisory committee

Joining Fixler on the new committee are: 

  • Tom Gosling, Executive Fellow in the Department of Finance at London Business School and Executive Fellow at the European Corporate Governance Institute.
  • Catherine Howarth OBE, Chief Executive of ShareAction.  
  • Tim Mohin, former Chief Sustainability Officer for Persefoni AI and formerly Chief Executive of the Global Reporting Initiative. 
  • Sonali Siriwardena, Partner and Global Head of ESG at Simmons and Simmons.  
  • Harald Walkate, Senior Fellow at the Center for Sustainable Finance & Private Wealth (CSP) at the University of Zurich.   

The ESG committee will also include the FCA’s Chair, other Non-Executive Directors and the Director of ESG. 

The Terms of Reference can be viewed on the FCA website.

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