Background

Sustainability reporting is the practice adopted by organizations for measuring, communicating, and being accountable to internal and external stakeholders for organizational performance towards the goal of sustainable development. ‘Sustainability reporting’ is a broad term considered synonymous with others used to describe reporting on economic, environmental, and social impacts (e.g., triple bottom line, corporate responsibility reporting, etc.). As the stakeholders like government agencies, employees, investors, financial institutions, community, NGOs, consumers, etc., have become more demanding and demand for companies to disclose information on its social, environmental, and economic impacts is growing , it has become necessary for the companies to communicate and engage with all these stakeholders in the decision-process and hence sustainability reporting has emerged to be an important tool for stakeholder engagement and communication.

Objectives

In India, firms have well realized the importance of sustainability reporting exercise and many firms from various sectors, such as oil & gas, IT, FMCG, energy, chemicals, automobiles, etc., are engaged in preparing their sustainability reports. Many other big and small enterprises are in the process to start communicating with their stakeholders through sustainability reports. Hence, it is the first and foremost requirement from a manager to be familiar with the needs and rationale behind the sustainability reporting exercise by corporates and also get familiar with the practice of sustainability reporting. The purpose of this course is to familiarize the target participants with the entire rationale behind sustainability reporting exercise. At the same time, they must be acquainted with the concepts, tools, and various guidelines and standards of sustainability reporting.

Curriculum

Introduction to Sustainability Reporting

• The concept of Environment, Business, and Society
• Sustainability and the Role of Corporation
• Role of financial and non-financial disclosures and reporting
• Rationale behind ‘Sustainability Reporting’ by corporates
• Sustainability Report as a tool for stakeholder communication

Planning a Sustainability Report

• Analysis and Research: Prerequisites of a sustainability Report
• Structure of a Sustainability Report
• The concept of Sustainability Indicators
• Stakeholder Engagement including identification, mapping, and prioritization
• Indicator development (including performance measurement and monitoring) and materiality assessment information for inclusion in sustainability    report
• Writing and designing the report

GRI Framework

• GRI Standard (In effect from July 1, 2018)
• Disclosure requirements, Performance Indicators (Economic, Environmental, Labour Practices, Human Rights, Society, Product Responsibility)

Sustainability Performance Measurement and Assurance

• Role of Standards and Regulations
• Verification and Assurance of Sustainability Reports (Assurance standards, such as AA 1000 AS and AA1000APS, ISAE 3000)

Sustainability Reporting in India

• Current Trends in India, Role of Regulators, Institutional Framework, Stakeholder Engagement
• Case studies