Sustainability reporting standards

An increasing number of businesses around the world are publishing a sustainability report where they disclose the economic, environmental, and social impact of their activities. Sustainability reporting helps to gain insight into their carbon footprint through measurement of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG), but also to set goals, manage changes, and communicate all of this to external stakeholders and customers.

There are a number of standards and protocols for conducting sustainability reporting. The main internationally recognised standards include the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB), Taskforce on Climate Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) protocol, and Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP). To meet the demand for sustainability standards setting, the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) Foundation formed the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) which is currently working on its own standards. At the same time, the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG) is fast developing the Sustainability reporting standard to support the upcoming European regulations and information disclosure under the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD).

To help you navigate the variety of available standards, you can find a number of articles on the Ecomatters website that give an insight into the most commonly used reporting frameworks. An overview of the goal and benefits of carbon reporting is presented on our page on Corporate sustainability reporting, which also addresses integrated reporting. On our page on Greenhouse Gas (Protocol) reporting, we take a closer look at one of the most commonly used frameworks for the measurement and management of GHG in the public and private sectors. Within this, the different GHG protocol standards at various organisational levels are discussed, and we also navigate the three different GHG emissions categories, Scope 1, Scope 2, and Scope 3. At this time, the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) is the sustainability reporting framework that is most accepted and used by public and private organisations. More information about the different topic-specific standards can be found on our Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) page. Once you have established your carbon footprint using one of the frameworks mentioned above, you can consider setting science-based emission reduction targets. In our article on setting sustainability targets, we explore target-setting methods such as the Sectoral Decarbonisation Approach (SDA).

Ecomatters also provides sustainability support in many other capacities. Our strategic advice, target-setting, and reporting service can help you ensure that your organisation’s reporting meets regulatory requirements as well as your corporate objectives. Ecomatters offers a full range of services for small to large multinational corporations. We have done this for numerous companies including:

• IMCD group: from 2019 onwards, Ecomatters supported IMCD with their Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) guided sustainability reporting. We conducted the full process of sustainability reporting including materiality assessment, approach development, calculations, development of the structure and content of the report, support with data collection, and goal setting.
• AkzoNobel: Ecomatters supported AkzoNobel with their corporate carbon reporting as part of their Annual Report of 2019. The carbon measurement and reporting were in line with the GHG Protocol Corporate Standard for Accounting and Reporting and were externally audited.

It is our priority to work closely with you to go beyond the numbers and make sustainability mean something productive for your business. In order to offer effective support, we are up to date on the global standards for emissions and carbon calculation methods. These methods include the Carbon Disclosure Project, Global Reporting Initiative, Integrated Reporting Framework, and the various LCA ISO standards.

Our experts can:

• Support in understanding which GHG Protocol standard is relevant and how best to implement it in the company.
• Design and support the development of corporate carbon reporting systems, compliant with the GHG Protocol.
• Help your organisation measure carbon emissions under your direct control (Scope 1 and 2 emissions) as well as your organisation’s indirect (Scope 3) emissions.
• Carry out a value chain analysis, develop customised tools, and perform marketing activities.
• Support in calculations of the environmental footprint of products or the organisation.
• Support in the review or audit process of sustainability reporting as part of the annual report.