Conservative - Regulation
Scrap mandatory ESG reporting
Remove selected climate, sustainability and diversity reporting requirements for companies and financial firms.
Last updated: May 2026.
Reporting baseline
The pledge covers mandatory ESG and diversity reporting, but does not specify which company-law, FCA or sustainability-disclosure rules are removed. Direct fiscal effects are small.
- Companies save reporting costs.
- Investors lose some standardised information.
- Public fiscal effects are limited.
Core trade-offs
Firms gain lower compliance burdens. Investors, lenders and consumers may receive less comparable information about climate, governance and workforce risks, possibly raising capital-market information costs.
- Reporting firms gain lower admin costs.
- Investors lose comparable disclosures.
- Fiscal impact is near zero.
Fiscal impact by 2028-29
-GBP 0.1bn to +GBP 0.5bn. Central estimate: GBP 0.0bn.
- Positive numbers mean net fiscal cost; negative numbers mean Exchequer savings.
- Direct public fiscal effect is small.
- Private compliance savings are not Exchequer savings.
- Rule coverage is unspecified.
- This is not an official costing.
Economic impact by 2028-29
- Jobs: Compliance jobs may fall; little aggregate employment effect.
- Wages: No broad wage effect expected.
- Prices: Small cost savings unlikely to change consumer prices materially.
- GDP / productivity: Mixed: lower admin burden but worse information for capital allocation.
Assessment
This is mainly a regulatory-burden and information-quality trade-off, not a fiscal policy. The economic case depends on whether reporting requirements are genuinely duplicative or useful to investors and lenders.
Confidence: Medium-low. Reporting baselines are visible; firm compliance costs and information benefits are not fully measured.
Main risks
- Information loss: Investors may lose comparable data on climate and governance risks.
- International mismatch: UK firms may still report for EU, US or investor requirements.
- Overclaiming savings: Private compliance savings are not public fiscal savings.
Safeguards
- List every reporting rule removed.
- Keep material risk disclosure for investors.
- Avoid duplication rather than remove useful data.
Academic evidence
Dechezlepretre and Sato, Review of Environmental Economics and Policy, 2017
Regulation and competitiveness
Environmental regulation can impose costs but competitiveness effects are often smaller than claimed.
Relevant to deregulation claims around net zero and ESG.
The Impacts of Environmental Regulations on Competitiveness (2017)
Goulder and Parry, Review of Environmental Economics and Policy, 2008
Environmental policy design
Instrument choice matters: taxes, permits and standards differ in efficiency and distributional effects.
Relevant to carbon pricing, CBAM and ZEV mandate choices.
UK government evidence
Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 2022
Climate disclosure guidance
Mandatory climate-related disclosures apply to certain large companies and LLPs for years from April 2022.
Defines the reporting baseline.
Climate-related financial disclosures for companies and LLPs (2022)
Financial Conduct Authority, 2026
FCA SDR regime
FCA SDR rules target anti-greenwashing, product labels and sustainability-related disclosures.
Relevant to financial-services reporting changes.
Office for Budget Responsibility, 2026
OBR fiscal forecast
The OBR forecast sets the macro, borrowing and receipts baseline used for broad fiscal context.
Prevents treating tax cuts or spending changes as self-financing.
Sources
- PolicyLens methodology: Scrap mandatory ESG reporting Internal - PolicyLens, 2026
- Climate-related financial disclosures for companies and LLPs UK government guidance - Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, 2022
- Sustainability Disclosure Requirements regime Regulator guidance - Financial Conduct Authority, 2026
- Economic and fiscal outlook: March 2026 Fiscal forecast - Office for Budget Responsibility, 2026
- The Impacts of Environmental Regulations on Competitiveness Academic review - Dechezlepretre and Sato, Review of Environmental Economics and Policy, 2017
- Instrument Choice in Environmental Policy Academic article - Goulder and Parry, Review of Environmental Economics and Policy, 2008
- Our Plan for Britain Party policy source - Conservative Party, 2026
Other Conservative policies
PolicyLens estimates are illustrative and should not be treated as official costings.