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sustainability in Business

Sustainability in Business is a platform for Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility in business. We advance awareness and knowledge of this critical function as businesses evolve in relation to climate, nature, people, and governance.

What is sustainability in business?

Sustainability in Business is a platform for Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility in business. We strive to advance awareness and knowledge of this critical role in business in relation to climate, nature, people, and governance.   
                     
Sustainability covers a broad set of topics important for corporate risk management, governance, and  strategy. They include risks and opportunities associated with climate and nature, greenhouse gas emissions, stakeholder relations, business ethics, and human rights, among others. Financial materiality, the effect of these topics on the financial outlook of a firm, is relevant to business management and governance. Beyond financial materiality, the impacts of business operation on people and the planet directly and indirectly affect a business's relationship with a broad set of internal and external stakeholders who increasingly expect businesses to interact responsibly with the environment and the stakeholders.

Sustainability is becoming an urgent and important topic that businesses increasingly prioritise. Whether sustainability impacts are seen as risks, opportunities, or both depends on the nature of the business sector and activities. With the implementation of CSRD1 and the release of disclosure standards, sustainability-related assessments affect large and small businesses across sectors and geographies.

1. Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive

Digital Tools

The ESG App is a digital resource on the regulatory development and thematic topics in Sustainability. It is available for iOS/macOS and Android (mobile) devices.
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Learn more

New!CSRD Tool is a learning tool for Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) reporting. It is based on EU Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/2772 and includes approximately 1,200 disclosure data points of the CSRD.
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topics

CSRD AND ESRS

EU regulations on mandatory sustainability reporting to be phased in over the next years

EU TAXONOMY

Taxonomy alignment criteria across six environmental objectives including Substantial Contribution and DNSH criteria by activities

RISKS AND TRANSITION PLANNING

Climate risk assessments and transition planning towards a net-zero economy

MATERIALITY

Sustainability-related materiality and its impact on businesses

GHG EMISSIONS

Emissions conversions, measurement and decarbonisation

NATURE

Nature and its relations to businesses. Recommendations of the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures

CORPORATE COMMITMENTS

Science-based Targets and Net-Zero commitments

CARBON MARKETS

Carbon standards, carbon markets, compliance and voluntary trading systems

HUMAN RIGHTS

Business and human rights, affected communities, value chain governance and more

Articles

CSRD's ESRS E1 Climate Change
The first topical standard of the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) is Climate Change. It is expected that most, if not all reporting companies will disclose information related to Climate Change based on this standard. According to Chapter 3.2 of ESRS 1 on Material matters and materiality of information, if a reporting company decides that climate change is not material and therefore do not disclose information required under the Climate Change topical standard, the company must provide a detailed explanation of the conclusions of its materiality assessment regarding climate change.
June 21, 2024
Supplementary guidance on nature-related financial disclosures based on biomes
Biomes are the types of ecosystems belonging to one of the four realms (land, freshwater, ocean, and atmosphere) around the planet. Biomes provide ecosystem services to species and inhabitants. To supplement the assessment using the LEAP approach, these additional guidances based on biomes are provided as there may be some specific circumstances particularly relevant for certain biomes.
June 7, 2024
CSRD's ESRS 2: General Disclosures, Part 2
In Part 2 of the CSRD series, we review the remaining disclosure requirements in CSRD’s ESRS 2 General Disclosures. They are related to strategy and business models (SBMs), impacts, risks and opportunities (IROs), and minimum disclosure requirements on policies, actions, metrics, and targets (MDRs).
May 17, 2024
CSRD's ESRS 2: General Disclosures, Part 1
ESRS 2 General Disclosures is the set of sustainability disclosures required for all companies starting from the first year of disclosure. Thus, it is the most generally applicable section of ESRS and it is considered “sector-agnostic” and “cross-cutting” across Sustainability Topics. Except a few specific phase-in requirements outlined in ESRS 1 General Requirements, all disclosures in ESRS 2 General Disclosures are required for all entities starting from the first year of mandatory reporting.
April 16, 2024
CSRD's ESRS 1: General Requirements
We are starting a series on Navigating CSRD Requirements. In each instalment of this series, we deep dive into a specific section or disclosure requirement of the CSRD. In this first instalment, we look at CSRD Annex 1 European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) 1 - General Requirements.
March 26, 2024
GHG emissions reporting: interoperability between CSRD/ESRS, GRI and ISSB
Scope 1, Scope 2, and Scope 3 GHG emissions is one of the main required reporting metrics across the three main reporting standards, CSRD/ESRS, GRI and ISSB. Is there a high level of inter-operability in the reporting requirements of this important metric across the published standards? We look into this particular reporting requirement.
February 13, 2024
EFRAG's implementation guidance for the materiality assessment as of December 2023
In the November meeting of the EFRAG working group on Sustainability Reporting, the group provided an update on the guidance for materiality assessment. This document incorporates comments from previous rounds of revisions, and it is expected to be publicly released once all comments are incorporated and it receives approval.
January 13, 2024
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