Sustainability Reporting Framework That Benefits Your Organization
Businesses can make their working procedures and operations more sustainable by setting a set of realistic goals, assessing performance regularly, and ensuring proper management via certain policies. The first step is to determine which sustainability reporting structure will be used to get the best results.
The primary goal of sustainability reporting frameworks is to translate theoretical problems and goals into practical actions. By revealing both good and negative impacts on the Earth, society, and economy, sustainability reporting can assist your company in setting priorities to achieve social and environmental impact goals.
Therefore, in this post, we will be discussing the various sustainability reporting frameworks that can benefit your organization to a great extent. Accounting firms in Malaysia can help organizations choose a suitable framework, but it is important to be familiar with the different standards to have the essential knowledge about this critical issue.
1. International organization for standardization (ISO)
ISO is a global non-governmental organization. Its members contain 164 national standards Group. ISO 14001 is one of the most significant standards of ISO. It deals with the international standards to establish requirements of a successful environmental management system.
The good thing about this standard is that it does not impose any general environmental performance standards on all types of organizations. Instead, ISO 14001 is a reliable sustainability reporting standard that a company can follow to ensure it is having a positive impact on the environment.
2. Global reporting initiative (GRI)
GRI is one of the most respected organizations all over the world. It adopted the concept of sustainability reporting in 1997. The purpose of the GRI Sustainability Reporting Standards (GRI Standards) is to provide a reliable reporting framework to companies to reveal their positive, as well as negative impact on the economy, society, and the environment.
These standards contain well-researched metrics that companies can use to evaluate their performance. Unlike other frameworks, GRI Standards also focus on helping organizations navigate the sustainability reporting process. As a result, companies can also use GRI Standards to determine the key issues and address them.
As the name suggests, Global Standards are designed to be applied to all types of organizations in any part of the world. This is the main reason why a large number of businesses, both small and large, use GRI Standards for sustainability reporting. The indicators used by GRI are also used by various other
sustainability reporting frameworks, so it is possible to compare their results.
3. Principles for responsible investments (PRI)
PRI is one of the most popular proponents of making sure investments are responsible and good for the environment. These principles evaluate the investment consequences of environmental, social, and corporate governance to provide maximum support to investors who want to consider these factors before making any investment. PRI is supported by the United Nations, which shows its credibility and significance in sustainability reporting frameworks.
The significance of PRI has greatly increased in the last few years because more and more consumers are also now pushing organizations to make eco-friendly decisions and investments. As a result, PRI plays an important role in encouraging investors to use their investments responsibly so that the investments lead to a better environment, society, and economy.
4. Sustainability accounting standards board (SASB)
SASB was founded in 2011 to specifically develop sustainability standards and research for investors. It is an independent nonprofit organization that wants to implement the best sustainability standards all over the world. It operates with the goal of encouraging public companies to be transparent and disclose their important information to provide relevant and credible data that can positively influence the financial decisions of investors.
It is one of the most comprehensive sustainability reporting standards that help companies and investors determine the financial impacts of sustainability. Generally, companies and professionals, like accounting firms in Malaysia, use SABS and GRI as a reliable framework for sustainability reporting.
In 2020, SASB and GRI also announced a collaboration to develop a fair, transparent, and trustful environment for the reporting companies. Such collaborations are expected to increase due to the rising significance of sustainability reporting.
All in All
These are the top four sustainability reporting frameworks helping organizations worldwide to meet sustainability reporting requirements. Choosing a suitable framework can vary from company to company. If you are confused between the different frameworks, you can also consider hiring accounting services in Malaysia and contacting the professionals to ensure you are making a smart decision.
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