Recent sustainability and integrated reporting developments

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16 Apr 2019

A summary of recent developments at CDSB, CRD, Deloitte, Alliance for Corporate Transparency, WBCSD, IIRC, GRI, SSE, XRB, and IAASB.

The Climate Disclosure Standards Board (CDSB) has published Roadmap for Adopting the TCFD Recommendations: To the French G7 Presidency and the G7 Ministers of Finance and Environment noting that disclosure and accounting in line with the TCFD is the bedrock for implementing Paris Agreement Article 2.1c “Making finance flows consistent with a pathway towards low greenhouse gas emissions and climate-resilient development”. Please click to access the roadmap here.

The CDSB has also published a checklist to help preparers to integrate the TCFD recommendations into standard business processes. It can be accessed through the press release on the CDSB website.

The Corporate Reporting Dialogue (CRD) has launched a six week consultation to gather views from stakeholders on how to drive better alignment of sustainability reporting frameworks, as well as with frameworks that promote integration between non-financial and financial reporting. Please click to access the survey on the CRD website.

Deloitte has commented on the European Commission's targeted consultation on the update of the non-binding guidelines on non-financial reporting. We support the Commission's efforts to improve climate-related disclosures and welcome its approach in encouraging companies to implement the TCFD and incorporating them into the European Commission's guidelines.

The Alliance for Corporate Transparency has assessed over 100 European companies to analyse how effectively they are disclosing the environmental, social and governance (ESG) impact information required by the EU Non-financial Reporting Directive. The analysis concludes that companies are failing to disclose meaningful information about their ESG impact. The press release on the Alliance for Corporate Transparency website offers an overview of the findings and access to the full report.

The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) has released an ESG Disclosure Handbook and Indicator Library providing practical resources for addressing key disclosure questions, dilemmas and decisions to support effective and efficient disclosure practice.  Please click for more information on the WBCSD website.

The International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC) has published a set of answers to some of the most frequently asked questions, as corporate reporting is being reformed worldwide to embrace the concept of integrated reporting. Please click to access the frequently asked questions on the IIRC website.

The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) announces that

  • there is increasing sustainability reporting in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh (press release);
  • GRI is inviting nominations to join an expert working group to produce the first GRI Sector Standard, for oil, gas and coal (press release);
  • the GRI 303 and GRI 403 Standards (2018) are now available in Spanish (press release); and
  • the Organizing Committee for the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games 2020 make use of the GRI Standards to produce a progress report for their sustainability plan (press release).

The United Nation's Sustainable Stock Exchanges (SSE) initiative notes that

  • it has partnered with the Capital Market Authority in Rwanda and the Rwanda Stock Exchange to raise ESG standards of listed companies in Rwanda (press release); and
  • the Moscow Exchange (MOEX) has become an SSE Partner Exchange (press release).

The New Zealand External Reporting Board (XRB) has released a Position Statement strongly supporting the reporting of EER information by entities within their annual report to the extent that the information is relevant to the intended users of annual reports. Please see the Position Statement on the XRB website.

The International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) is seeking feedback on progress in developing draft guidance in the first phase of a project to develop guidelines for assurance on extended external reporting (EER). The consultation paper is available on the IAASB website.

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