Editor’s note: This is part of a series on bridging the sustainability skills gap with the resources currently available. Collection Includes more than a dozen articles and more than 200 educational opportunities in areas such as Weather and net zero strategy, Logistics and supply chain, ESG and sustainable financing, Professional certificates and Free skill upgrade.
A lot has changed in the world of sustainability reporting and disclosure in just a few short years. The endless stream of announcements about mergers, standards updates, new regulations, and regulatory freezes has been a bit confusing. If you’ve been struggling to keep up with it all, you’re not alone.
Below is an overview of four important sustainability reporting standards (technically three reporting standards and a disclosure system), as well as a collection of 11 learning opportunities that can help you learn how the various reporting tools relate to each other and determine which company what are you The requirements for the next paper report, which will be released on Friday, include 51 learning opportunities that detail each specific standard.
A number of these organizations work beyond corporate reporting. For brevity, the chart and description below focuses exclusively on their corporate work.
Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)
The GRI standards are the most applicable set of sustainability reporting standards in the world. More than 14,000 organizations of all sizes, types and geographies use the GRI standards to be transparent and accountable for their impacts on the economy, environment and society. They are designed to meet the needs of different stakeholders and cover environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues. One of the key pillars of the GRI standards is dual importance, which requires considering the impact of ESG issues on a company’s performance (financial matter) and the company’s impact on the economy, environment, and society (impact matter).
European Commission
The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) is a regulation in the European Union that requires certain companies in the European Union or with significant activity in the European Union to report sustainability performance on ESG issues. The CSRD also determines who must report and when they must begin reporting. The European Commission has estimated that 50,000 companies are required to report annually. The European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) specify what information companies must report and how they must report it. The key requirements are that companies must conduct a dual significance assessment of their entire value chain to determine what to include in their reports, report Scope 3 emissions and obtain third-party assurance.
International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) Foundation.
The IFRS Foundation issues the most common corporate financial reporting standards in the world. In 2023, the IFRS Foundation published its first sustainability standards, IFRS S1 General Requirements for Disclosures and IFRS S2 Climate-Related Disclosures. These standards are combined and built on the standards of the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB), the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosure (TCFD) and other important frameworks, and are designed as a global basis for reporting sustainability information and its impacts. on a company’s financial performance While these investor-focused standards are currently voluntary, countries and financial markets that adopt them are expected to become mandatory. More than 20 jurisdictions, representing more than half of the global economy by GDP, have announced measures to use the standards in their legal or regulatory frameworks.
CDP
CDP is a global environmental disclosure system that helps companies measure and manage environmental risks and opportunities. Companies typically submit responses to the CDP questionnaire at the request of investors, banks or corporate buyers, but may voluntarily disclose it if they wish. Companies are graded from A to D on disclosures related to climate change, water security and deforestation. The CDP database is the largest collection of corporate environmental information in the world. Access to this data enables investors and banks to incorporate sustainability considerations into their investment and lending processes and allows companies to engage more effectively with their suppliers. More than 23,000 companies – including listed companies worth two-thirds of the global market capitalization – were disclosed through CDP in 2023.
Employers in the United States may be interested in learning about two recent developments: California’s corporate climate disclosure rules and the Securities and Exchange Commission’s climate disclosure rule. Everything is still too much up in the air for there to be specific training courses on this. However, if you want a solid foundation in the key concepts, you can learn about emissions management and TCFD, and you can check out Persefoni Academy’s free SEC Climate Disclosure: An Executive Primer course.
As is often the case with these types of lists, I’m sure I’ve missed some. If your favorite suggestion isn’t included here, an article with 51 standard tutorials will be published on Friday. If it doesn’t exist yet, I warmly invite you to join the conversation on LinkedIn to tell me and your fellow readers about it. Thank you in advance for your help in exposing these resources so that more people can work to advance sustainable business practices.
ESG, sustainability and climate reporting courses
These courses provide learners with an understanding of the various reporting standards and frameworks and how they relate to each other. Some also provide a tactical understanding of the reporting process and tips to make data collection easier. If you’re new to reporting, one of these courses is a great place to start learning about different tools.
The Sustainability and Climate Report, The Ultimate Guide by Duncan Wilson and Emily Pons
This course is designed to provide those new to sustainability and climate reporting with an overview of the relevant history, issues, standards and frameworks. It begins with the Exxon Valdez oil spill in 1989 and covers key developments including the publication of the TCFD recommendations, the establishment of the ISSB under IFRS and the adoption of the CSRD.
- Cost: $9.99
- completion time: 4 hours
- Educational format: On-demand videos
- Key topics covered: Principles of Valdez; GRI; SASB; WRI greenhouse gas protocol; science-based goals initiative; CDP TCFD; TNFD; IFRS S1 and S2; European Green Deal and EU Climate Law; CSRD Article 19, Double Significance Test. ESRD; Reconciliation of TCFD, IR and IFRS with ESRS; International reporting approaches
Mastery of sustainable reporting from the Association of Certified Accountants
This course guides practitioners through the steps required to develop an effective sustainability reporting process plan following the best practices outlined in the ACCA Sustainability Reporting Guide. The focus is on the reporting process and not on specific standards. However, optional content is available to learn more about the implementation requirements of IFRS S1 and S2 and ESRS.
- Cost: From £165 (approx $210)
- completion time: 6 hours
- Educational format: On-demand e-learning, exam
- Key topics covered: The importance of effective, accurate and standard sustainability reporting. 8 stages of the reporting cycle. assigning appropriate levels of reporting responsibility; defining data requirements and planning data collection activities; Preparation of a reporting process plan including verification and continuous improvement
Sustainability reporting expert From Earth Academy
This introductory course extensively explains how to use GRI, CDP, IR, SASB and TCFD and discusses their similarities and differences. This is part of Earth Academy’s Faculty of Strategy and Sustainability Reporting portfolio, which includes courses related to TCFD, SDGs, AccountAbility Principles, and IR in addition to courses listed elsewhere in this article.
- Cost: €195 (approx. $215)
- completion time: 2.5 hours
- Educational format: On-demand e-learning, exam
- Key topics covered: Sustainability and its challenges; What is Sustainability Reporting An overview of GRI, CDP, IR, SASB and TCFD
Mastering enterprise weather reporting from Terra.do
This intermediate-level course enables learners to review global mandatory and voluntary climate disclosure requirements, understand the TCFD recommendations, assess the significance of data, and understand how climate data is integrated into financial reporting. . Participants will gain experience in assessing the frameworks a company must comply with, drafting a table of contents for a sustainability report and creating a corporate disclosure checklist.
- Next start date: November 26
- Cost: $399
- completion time: 4 weeks, 1.5 hours per week
- Educational format: Live online classes, assignments
- Key topics covered: Climate Voluntary and Mandatory Financial Disclosure Reporting Requirements; Deep dive into TCFD, California SB 253 and 261 and CSRD. TCFD knowledge center and scenario analysis; Integrating sustainability and financial reporting
Weather Disclosure Analyst Certification from Voiz Academy
The program is designed to provide participants with hands-on experience with corporate disclosure and reporting tools such as the Science Goals Initiative, the WRI GHG Protocol, TCFD, CDP, CSRD, and GRI. Simulations include evaluating a SBTi-based net zero plan, calculating the carbon emissions of a real estate portfolio, assessing a company’s climate risks and opportunities, developing a strategy to improve a company’s CDP score, and evaluating a company’s ESG score. After its launch on September 20, the certification will be added to Voiz Academy’s unlimited sustainability skills development platform.
- Cost: $495 for annual subscription (get 10% off with code GB10)
- Completion time: 36 to 48 hours
- Educational format: On-demand e-learning, projects
- Key topics covered: Science-based goal setting. Carbon calculation using the WRI GHG protocol. Assess climate risks and opportunities using TCFD recommendations; Understanding of TCFD, CSRD, GRI and regional disclosure regulations; SEC Act 2024; ESG rating process and methods
Online Sustainability Certification (ESG) report from the Sustainability Academy
This certificate program provides a comprehensive overview of regulations, standards, and reporting frameworks from around the world, including detailed explanations of how multiple standards relate to each other. There is also guidance on the reporting process, stakeholder mapping and engagement, significance assessment and assurance.
- Cost: $530
- completion time: 20 to 25 hours
- Educational format: On-demand e-learning, exam
- Key topics covered: Mandatory Global ESG Disclosure and Reporting Process. sustainable development goals; CSRD and ESRS; GRI 1, 2, 3 and thematic standards; United Nations Global Compact; ISO26000; How to create an ESG report; Significance, double significance and data collection. AA1000AS and ISAE3000 external assurance standards; Stakeholder participation
Join the conversation
I hope this article helped you find at least one great new resource to help you better understand and support the sustainability reporting and disclosure process. If I’ve missed one of your favorites or if you want to tell me about a resource that could be relevant to a future article, please join the conversation on LinkedIn and remember to keep an eye out for the next article with 51 Special Standard Articles be Practices will be held on Friday until then!
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