PricewaterhouseCoooper's global head of sustainability says he is "surprised " environmental issues are not on the finance director's radar.

Malcolm Preston, the recently appointed global head of sustainability for PwC, said he was surprised some finance directors in large companies had "no idea" what is going on when it comes to environmental strategies, especially as it is on the minds of chief execs.

"This is about the finance function taking ownership of it," he said.

Preston explains under the Carbon Reduction Commitment, legislation which will force companies to pay for its emissions, the Environment Agency will publish a league table of how well a company is managing its carbon emissions.

He added: "Investors will be interested in that information."

"Those that take it less seriously are going to be left behind," he said.

Environmental reporting should come under the finance function including the strategy of the business going forward.

He also mentioned he was stunned that almost three quarters of large businesses do not have specific software in place to report on green house gases.

"In about two years time, not having sophisticated software for green house gas reporting will be like a company not having an accounting system," he said.

Further reading:

Accountants unprepared for environmental legislation