Transition Plan Content Index

In the summer of 2024, a coalition of NGOs, including C2ES, BSR, Ceres, the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), and We Mean Business Coalition (WMBC) came together to develop a Transition Plan Index. The Index is a simple tool that can have a large impact. The motivation is to enhance the transparency and comparability of corporate transition plans by providing a tool for companies to explicitly indicate where all the elements of their plan can be found and provide context on elements that are not included. This tool is for companies with standalone and integrated transition plans.

The Transition Plan Content Index was originally developed in 2024 by a coalition of NGOs including C2ES, BSR, Ceres, the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), and the We Mean Business Coalition (WMBC) as a real economy–focused disclosure tool to enhance the transparency, comparability, and credibility of corporate transition plans.

Upon continued engagement with the finance community about the Real Economy Index, it became clear that investment sector stakeholders also needed a vehicle to disclose their own transition plan information. With the help of our partners, we developed two complementary indexes:

Transition Plan Guidance Resource

This resource guide accompanies the enhanced Real Economy Transition Plan Index and the newly developed Financial Institution Transition Plan Index. It contains sector-specific use cases, best practice instructions, guidance on choosing a disclosure framework, and additional resources.

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Real Economy Transition Plan Index

The Real Economy Transition Plan Index is a practical tool for companies to align their transition plans with leading frameworks and present the information in a transparent, comparable format. It can be used to assess completeness, identify gaps, and guide the development or enhancement of a plan. In addition to supporting corporate disclosure, the Index is also valuable for investors as a screening and engagement tool, helping them evaluate the credibility of portfolio companies’ transition strategies and identify areas for dialogue or improvement.

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Finance Institution Transition Plan Index

The Financial Institution Transition Plan Index provides a consistent, framework-aligned structure for banks, insurers, asset owners, and asset managers to disclose their own transition plan information. It helps financial institutions assess alignment with sector-specific guidance, improve comparability across the industry, and clearly communicate their plan information. The Index also supports transparency with stakeholders, enabling clients, beneficiaries, and regulators to more easily evaluate the credibility and completeness of a financial institution’s transition plan.

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Together, these tools support more effective disclosure, assessment, and engagement across both the corporate and financial sectors.

Guidance Coverage

The table below summarizes the frameworks included in Version 2, their applicability, and which index they appear in. Frameworks listed under both indexes can be used by either real economy companies or financial institutions, depending on disclosure needs and stakeholder expectations.

Transition Plan Index Use Cases

Examples of Transition Plan Index Disclosure and Source Document Appendix

Transition Plan Index disclosure with location information for included elements and additional context for omitted elements, sample indexes ICAPS Disclosure:

Transition Plan Index listed in Table of Contents:

For further questions or inquiries please reach out to Nicholas Franco, Director of Corporate Net Zero Transition Planning at francon@c2es.org or Naila Karamally, Corporate Net Zero Transition Planning Fellow at karamallyn@c2es.org.