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Society’s changing expectations of the corporate sector have been matched by the emergence of a range of new reporting guidance, some voluntary, some mandatory. However, the absence of agreed, standard terminology for describing and defining the components of the sustainability reporting landscape contributes to the confusion and complexity that currently characterises it. As far as sustainability reporting is concerned, we seem to be moving in the right direction, but we are still somewhat uncertain about our final destination.
To address and discuss these concerns, ACCA and CDSB (Climate Disclosure Standards Board) recently launched a new report called Mapping the sustainability reporting landscape: Lost in the right direction, during an expert’s roundtable in Brussels. The report, which provides a useful ‘sustainability compass’ to help companies navigate the constantly shifting landscape that is corporate sustainability reporting, was the starting point for a lively debate between experts on the relevance and interaction of the various existing non-financial/sustainability reporting frameworks. The issue of the implementation of the Non-Financial Reporting Directive and its implication for companies reporting on extra-financial information, as well as sustainability reporting globally were also addressed. [...]
The debate revealed that a reasonable balance between stakeholder demands and companies’ capacity to produce additional information has to be found. It also revealed a clear consensus on the need to enhance the existing dialogue between all parties - regulators, companies, investors, civil society, and other stakeholders - and to agree on common objectives, on common language and common principles to make sustainability reporting more meaningful and create clarity for investors. It was stressed that greater alignment between frameworks, as well as a better understanding of where overlapping requests for information are made, would result in an improved sustainability reporting landscape able to reduce duplication and to build a sense of shared objectives. It was also noted that regulators have a role to play in finding common ground and comparability between the different reporting schemes.
The panel also highlighted other areas that merit vigilance, such as the effect on competitiveness, the need for any new practices to have the appropriate legitimacy and better understanding of claims related to directors’ liabilities.