Recent sustainability and integrated reporting developments

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12 Feb 2019

A summary of recent developments at GRI, IOSCO, WBCSD/CDSB, IIRC, the UK Government, the Carbon Trust, and XBRL International.

The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) has launched a discussion paper A Closer Look at Water and GHG Emissions Disclosure, which contains key findings on corporate reporting on water and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The publication encourages active dialogue between data producers (report issuers) and data users (investors and data service providers). Please click for more information and access to the discussion paper on the GRI website.

The Growth and Emerging Market Committee (GEMC) of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) has published a consultation report Sustainable finance in emerging markets and the role of securities regulators, which proposes 11 recommendations for emerging market member jurisdictions to consider when issuing regulations or guidance regarding sustainable financial instruments. Among other things, the recommendations propose requirements for disclosure of material Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) specific risks, aimed at enhancing transparency. Please click to access the report on the IOSCO website.

The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) and the Climate Disclosure Standards Board (CDSB) released a report on the corporate sustainability reporting landscape in Japan. The report highlights that there’s growing market demand for more information on ESG issues and considerations. Please click for more information and access to the report on the CDSB website.

The International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC) has published new report Integrated Reporting in Turkey. The report aims to reveal perspectives of the Turkish business world through the lens of integrated reporting, the current corporate reporting practices, and the future expectations and orientations of the companies. Please click for more information and access to the report on the IIRC website.

The UK Goverment has issued updated Environmental Reporting Guidelines: Including streamlined energy and carbon reporting guidance. The guidelines include two new chapters - 1: Steps in reporting your environmental impacts and 2: Guidance on streamlined energy and carbon reporting. It also outlines additional voluntary information that is likely to be useful to organisations and a wide range of stakeholders. Please click to access the updated guidance on the UK government website.

The Carbon Trust has published a summary of its findings on climate risk disclosure, in which it reveals that two-thirds (67%) of UK corporates plan to disclose climate-related risks and opportunities in their 2019 annual reports. Please click for more information and access to an infographic on the Carbon Trust website.

XBRL International has provided a comment letter on the EU’s draft report on climate-related disclosures, urging the EU to help work to make this kind of reporting comparable, digital, discoverable and accessible. XBRL International supports streamlining climate disclosure, believing that comparable and usable disclosures are vital to help investors navigate this complicated field. Please click for more information and access to the comment letter on the XBRL International website.

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