UKSIF report: Member guide- Responding effectively to UK policy consultations
An important, though sometimes underutilised, public policy tool available to investors seeking to influence the UK’s sustainability and climate policy environment is responding to public policy consultations. In our view, consultation responses sit alongside, and can usefully complement, other forms of policy engagement, including: collaborative public letters to policymakers, direct engagement (e.g. through meetings or wider roundtables), participation in government or regulator-led working groups, and involvement with membership bodies and wider coalition groups’ policy initiatives.
For many years, UKSIF has engaged actively on UK government and regulatory consultations on a range of sustainability-related issues, working closely with our diverse membership as part of this. We continue to view consultation responses as an important part of our programme of work to help shape a policy environment in the UK that can support sustainable finance and investment and the future growth of the country’s low-carbon economy.
Our UKSIF member guide sets out the main purpose of consultation responses in the UK context, how they can influence policy and regulatory outcomes, practical challenges in shaping policy decision-making through responses, and a series of takeaways that members could consider when preparing their submissions. We hope that our guide can be a useful resource for member firms currently involved in policy engagement activities in the UK, and in particular for firms at an earlier stage of involvement with consultation responses and policy advocacy work.
Key takeaways in our report include:
- Alongside your preferred positions, consider credible alternative ‘fallback’ options in your response
- Be selective- don’t feel obliged to respond to all, or even a majority of, questions in a consultation
- Ground arguments in clear evidence and actionable solutions, not just the challenges alone
- Consider the wider environment impacting policymakers’ thinking to help land your response
- Co-ordinate with your membership organisations, industry peers, and other external organisations to enhance collective impact
