Ungc And Ungp

[Marsilius Boa]

EreS provides training workshops tailored to your requirements and business lines. Their aim is to arm key personnel with knowledge and understanding of the standards, regulations and tools related to your sustainability strategy.

Ere-S was among the pool of experts selected by SGX and Global Compact Network Singapore to lead a workshop to help listed companies prepare for their first sustainability reporting exercise prior to SGX Sustainability Reporting rules, which came into effect in 2018.

The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) is the most widely used framework for sustainability reporting. GRI standards provide guidance on how companies can disclose their environmental, social and economic profile and performance. The latest version of the framework, the GRI Standards, is composed of a set of three Universal Standards applicable to all organisations and a series of Topic-specific Standards.

We apply the guidance contained in the GRI framework in combination with other standards, such as AA1000AS, SGX Reporting Rules, ungp-reporting, UNGP or ISO 26000, as part of our reporting and performance measurement engagements. The GRI principles for defining report content and quality, and the reporting requirements for topic-specific indicators are usual components of our assurance and other validation criteria.

We primarily use AA1000AS for our assurance and eventually other validation services. The rest of the AA1000 series of standards, namely AA1000AP and AA1000SES, are used in our advice and methodologies relating to stakeholder engagement in particular and to performance measurement.

The first AA1000AS evaluations in Singapore were carried out by Ere-S in 2010 to assure the sustainability reports of City Developments Limited and PowerSeraya Limited. Since then, more local companies have adopted the AA1000 AccountAbility Assurance standard for their reports.

AA1000AP is also linked to other standards from AccountAbility, such as the AA1000 Stakeholder Engagement Standard (AA1000SES) which is based on the above four principles. Similarly, the evaluation criteria of the AA1000 Assurance Standard (AA1000AS) also include the principles of AA1000AP.

AA1000SES (2015) is based on the principles of AA1000AP and includes the definition of the main stakeholder groups as well as the objectives and scope of engagement. The purpose of AA1000SES is to initiate dialogue between an organisation and its stakeholders, jointly identify key issues, and develop appropriate mitigating actions.

Organisations contributing to CDP programme are invited to respond annually to a questionnaire on their greenhouse gas emissions. The questionnaire covers the company's profile, its managerial practices, the risks and opportunities in its sector, and its performance on the control of its GHG emissions. Requirements on the disclosure of emissions data are based on the GHG Protocol standards.

When requested by the customer, we carry out our services and recommendations on performance measurement and reporting based on the criteria of the CDP to ensure that the calculation methods and the client's GHG emission information are aligned with the requirements of the CDP questionnaire and the GHG Protocol.

The elements of the main standard include the GHG Accounting and Reporting Principles (relevance, completeness, consistency, transparency and accuracy), setting organisational and operational boundaries, identifying, calculating, reporting and verifying GHG emissions.

We rely on the GHG Protocol for our reporting and performance measurement services. In our assurance and validation procedures, we also use the principles and definitions found in the GHG Protocol to validate the calculation and reporting procedures used by our clients. The standard is particularly crucial when assessing a sustainability reporting framework under the ISAE 3410 guidelines.

ISAE 3000 includes requirements for all stages of an assurance engagement, such as planning, assessment of material and risk factors, liability of the practicing professional, and format and content of the report to be delivered at the end of the engagement. It also requires that the assurance engagement contains quality control procedures and be carried out by the practicing professional in accordance with the independence and other ethical requirements of the Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants, issued by the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (the IESBA Code).

ISAE 3000 defines two levels of assurance, limited or reasonable. The reasonable level is the most stringent and requires obtaining sufficient evidence to reduce assurance engagement risks to an acceptably low level. These levels of assurance are similar to the AA1000AS levels (moderate assurance and high assurance).

Although ISEA 3000 is not a regulatory requirement and does not require the assurance provider to be registered or certified, we have fully incorporated ISAE 3000 guidelines (and ISAE 3410 for disclosures on GHG management and performance) in our assurance methodology to ensure our engagements are carried out under high standards for audit quality and ethics.

ISAE 3410 covers assurance engagements on greenhouse gas (GHG) statements. While it is built on ISAE 3000, it focuses on the assessment methodologies for performance measurement and reporting processes that are specific to GHG emissions.

We base our assessment of data collection and calculation processes on the guidance and criteria from ISAE 3410 for assurance of reports that contain comprehensive disclosures on GHG management and performance or when assisting our clients in implementing processes for measurement of carbon emissions.

Issued by the International Organisation for Standardisation, ISO 26000 is a framework of principles and integration methods for social responsibility that have been developed to encourage organisations to make voluntary commitment and contribution to sustainable development. ISO 26000 provides guidelines on concepts, definitions and methods of evaluation that organisations can refer to, regardless of their nature, size and varying levels of development of the society in which they operate.

The standard is developed around clauses that set out business approach to sustainability. The major clauses are the Principles of Social Responsibility, the Fundamental Practices of Social Responsibility, the Social Responsibility Core Subjects and the Integration of Social Responsibility through an Organisation.

The most significant part of ISO 26000 is represented by its core subjects mentioned below. For each of them, the standard defines a set of issues in social responsibility and sustainability (for example, human rights risk situations; conditions of work and social protection; climate change mitigation and adaptation; wealth and income creation) and the related actions and expectations (for example, developing a human rights policy; preventing the release of GHG emissions, etc.).

ISO 26000 does not conflict with other corporate sustainability instruments such as the GRI Standards and AA1000 standards; rather, they complement each other. Ere-S recommends their combination as the key to a solid sustainability framework.

The UN Global Compact (UNGC) is a voluntary UN initiative aimed at encouraging organisations to adopt sustainable practices. The UNGC is based on a series of ten principles relating to human rights, labour law, the environment and the fight against corruption.

Organisations that are signatories to the UNGC commit themselves to implementing the principles of the Pact and to report annually on the progress made in their integration. This "Communication on Progress", or COP, requires the signatories to publish a declaration of accession to the Pact, a description of the measures taken and the results obtained. Signatories are classified according to three levels of COP disclosure: Level GC Learner, Level GC Active and Level GC Advanced.

In its mission to develop corporate sustainability and reporting strategies, Ere-S ensures that client sustainability practices, especially UNGC signatories, are aligned with the principles of the Pact. At the request of the client, we can also take care of document submission to the COP.

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