Mark Spicer

Partner, Climate Change & Sustainability

KPMG Australia

Mark joined KPMG's Sustainability team in 2006 and he is passionate about the intersection of capital markets and the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) performance of companies. Mark believes that the integration of ESG/Responsible Investing as well as the transparent and robust reporting of ESG performance should lead to improved investment opportunities.

Mark understands how the management of critical social and environmental issues such as climate risk, associated reporting (TCFD), and modern slavery will play an increasing role in the ability of corporates to be successful. Mark works across all elements of the ESG/Investment value chain, from stakeholder/member engagement, strategy design, policy and social/environmental impact and valuation to reporting and assurance. Mark has developed a gap analysis tool that assesses the alignment of asset owner disclosures, policies and processes against the TCFD recommendation and global better practice.

Mark believes that purely financial reporting represents a shrinking percentage of the information that the market considers important and there has been a shift in the past decade towards reporting of non-financial value towards impact reporting. Mark has used the Social Return on Investment (SROI) methodology, industry best practice and KPMG’s True Value methodology in order to assist clients planning, measuring and reporting of social and environmental impact. More recently, he has assisted asset owners and managers in their impact reporting leveraging the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Mark is a key member of KPMG’s Better Business Reporting group that provides both guidance and assurance of Integrated Reporting. Mark brings deep experience in assurance over sustainability reporting and in the development of strategy, targets and data capture and reporting processes over a wide range of industries and businesses.

Mark was the co-author of KPMG’s 2011 thought leadership publication Capital markets in the dark; an unsustainable state of play that investigates the links between sustainability reporting and the needs of the capital markets.

He also contributes towards the annual KPMG Super Insights Report. His contribution analyses the changes in responsible investment behaviours of Australia’s Superannuation companies.

Lastly, he was the lead author of the Responsible Investment Benchmark Report 2021. The report investigates the funds under management and the types of responsible investment approaches adopted by asset managers in Australia and New Zealand.

  • Climate Change and Sustainability
  • Climate change policy
  • Corporate responsibility assurance
  • Corporate responsibility reporting
  • Integrated Reporting
  • Internal Audit, Risk and Compliance Services
  • Risk Consulting
  • Social values and behaviors
  • Sustainability
  • Sustainability assurance and reporting
  • BA Economics (Environmental) (Hon), Exeter University

  • Social Return on Investment, Short Course, SVA, 2016

  • Environmental Accounting, Short Course, ANU, 2017

  • ACA, ICAEW

  • Registered Green Energy Auditor, Clean Energy Regulator