Board-led Task and Finish Group on Green Book Reform – members

Application closing date: 31 July 2025 

Join a board-led task and finish group to explore value for public money assessments of long-term green investments. 

The Sustainability Board is a member-led board of volunteer actuaries. It advises the IFoA on important sustainability issues and is a source of expertise within the profession on matters relating to the sustainability practice area.  

Context

The board is proud of substantial progress made over the last 5 years.

We now have:

  • a vibrant board, with respected industry leaders, influencing global thinking, focusing on areas where actuarial skills have most value to add, and collaborating with thought leaders and other specialists
  • a high quality weekly newsletter to over 1,000 actuaries, giving ongoing current perspectives
  • (closer to the ‘actuarial core skill set’:) 2 risk notes issues issued in last 2 years to remind all actuaries that climate risk should be on their radar and flag that some of the most respected sources may be underestimating their client’s risk

The Sustainability Board and IFoA have also collaborated to increase opportunities for actuaries and students to learn for their own personal development plan.

Call for new members: Board-led Task and Finish Group on Green Book Reform

We are looking for a small number of volunteers to support a board-led task and finish group exploring potential reforms to HM Treasury’s ‘Green Book’. Our focus is on how current guidance (in particular the choice of discount rate) may undervalue long-term green investment. We will also consider the use of discount rates in other areas of public finance that involve long-term green projects. These include public-private finance partnerships and contingent liabilities provided by the UK government.   

This short-term initiative will produce a succinct thought piece (approximately 10 pages) to help inform engagement with the Treasury and other policy stakeholders. The group will be co-led by board members Sara Joslin and Wendy Walford, with support from the IFoA Policy and Public Affairs Team (Caroline Winchester, Policy Manager).

We are looking for volunteers who:

  • have experience or strong interest in public investment appraisal, climate policy, or green finance
  • are available to engage over the next few weeks to help shape and review the output
  • are comfortable working at pace as part of a small, focused group

This is a great opportunity to support the IFoA’s policy voice on a high-impact issue with growing cross-party and stakeholder attention.

Benefits from being involved include:

  • the ability to influence and contribute to the sustainability practice area and strategy
  • professional support and assistance from within the board and IFoA staff
  • the opportunity to influence the IFoA’s approach to progressing its strategy
  • a chance to further develop your professional network of contacts within the sustainability industry

Time commitment

The task and finish group is expected to run for approximately 8 to 10 weeks, starting from early August. Time commitment will vary week to week but is likely to average around 1 to 2 hours per week. This includes participation in online meetings and contributing to drafting or reviewing outputs. We recognise availability may fluctuate, and there is some flexibility built in to accommodate this. The work is expected to conclude by mid to late October.

Next steps

If you are interested in this role and would like an informal conversation before applying, please email us at engagement.team@actuaries.org.uk.

If you have read all the above and would like to apply, please send us:

  • brief details of your relevant experience
  • your reasons for wishing to get involved
  • your ARN (if you are a member)
  • a brief copy of your CV and full contact details (if you are a non-member)
  • confirmation that you have read, understood, and agree to the information and requirements laid out in our volunteer information pack (please be aware that until we have received this confirmation, we will not be able to appoint you as a volunteer)

Please email all the above to engagement.team@actuaries.org.uk. Please note, we are unable to accept late applications.

We are committed to promoting diversity, equality of opportunity, and inclusion, within all our vacancies and we actively encourage applications from a diverse range of potential candidates. Recognising and embracing the unique and diverse talents of our volunteers is fundamental to the success of our organisation.

What you need to know

Volunteering provides you with a wide range of opportunities. With all rights and opportunities come responsibilities and we ask all our volunteers to comply with the terms of the IFoA’s governance manual and volunteer information pack. Before offering to provide support, please read through: what you need to know.