The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has responded to the criticisms of the UK Stewardship Code levelled by Sir John Kingman.  The revised Code incorporates environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors for the first time, encouraging signatories to take material ESG issues, including climate change, into account when fulfilling their stewardship responsibilities.

Sir John Kingman, in his review of the FRC commissioned by the government, recommended that the "well-intentioned but ineffective" Code be abolished if it cannot be made more effective. The UK Stewardship Code was first introduced in 2010 and sets out how institutional investors should engage with the companies in which they invest. The provisions in the Code extend beyond stewardship of UK-listed equities to cover any assets over which the investor has influence, wherever in the world they are located. The FRC's view is that signatories "should use the resources, rights and influence available to them to exercise stewardship, no matter how capital is invested".  This includes those larger charities with significant portfolios where as an investor they have an influence.