Sustainability reporting arrived with a structural problem: several frameworks coexisting, each with its own logic and audience. Many organizations responded in the most expensive way possible —one team and one process per framework— and discovered they were collecting the same data three or four times, with results that did not always match.

What each framework contributes

• ISSB / IFRS S1 & S2. The global baseline for convergence: IFRS S1 sets out the general requirements for sustainability-related disclosures and IFRS S2 those related to climate, incorporating the TCFD recommendations in a common language for investors.
• GRI. Impact-oriented: what effect the organization has on its environment and its stakeholders.
• SASB. Oriented to financial materiality by industry, with sector-specific metrics.
• Applicable local requirements. The requirements of each supervisor and stock exchange in the region, which adopt or adapt these frameworks with their own scope and timelines.

The good news is that, beneath the surface, they share a high proportion of indicators. The difference lies more in the angle and the level of aggregation than in the underlying data.

Collect once, report many times

The efficient model reverses the usual order. Instead of starting from the report format, it starts from the data inventory: which indicators the organization needs, who produces them, how often and under what definition. The views for each framework are then built on top of that single inventory.

If the same indicator is answered differently in two reports, the problem is not the wording: it is that there is no single definition.

The financial standard reaches sustainability

ESG information is following the same path financial information did: from narrative to structured data, and from structured data to automated validation and external assurance. Organizations that are already mature in financial reporting start with an advantage, because the discipline is the same: clear definitions, traceability and controls at the source.

Since 2023 we have supported organizations across the region with an ESG reporting solution integrated into their compliance ecosystem. Explore the ESG solution.