Sustainable is Attainable
Build ESG capabilities with Integrated Value Reporting
By Accenture
Sustainability in business refers to a company's strategy to reduce negative environmental impact resulting from their operations in a particular market. An organization's sustainability practices are typically analyzed against environmental, social, and governance (ESG) metrics.
We're doing business in an unpredictable world. Climate change, dwindling natural resources, and ever-increasing demands on our energy and food supply are disrupting business operations and supply chains in unexpected ways. It's more important than ever for private and public organizations to fundamentally rethink the way they function. Transforming into a successful sustainable business requires new levels of resilience and agility, rooted in responsible practices that preserve our planet.
Sustainability is a business imperative and should be core to the strategy and operations of every business. Governments, investors, employees, and customers are demanding new levels of enterprise accountability, including action to address climate change.
Regulatory pressure from US SEC through proposed new rules for critical climate disclosures for all domestic and foreign companies that are publicly traded in the U.S is also compelling companies to be more transparent in this regard. These would require companies to disclose climate-related risks, Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions among other data, in their annual reports and prospectuses.
Standardization of disclosure requirements which can extract material information on all significant sustainability-related risks and opportunities and also information that allows financial reporting users to understand how climate-related matters and the associated risks and opportunities affect business operations and resilience is pertinent for effective sustainability efforts.
Incorporating sustainability approach in organization culture is necessary to unlock sustainable business value. Lack of reliable data sources is a vital hurdle in measure and monitor companies' sustainability goals.
An Integrated Value Reporting (IVR) approach, developed by Accenture helps create the right strategy, linked to business value. It also helps companies focus on executing and operationalizing their strategy to drive better governance, disclosures, and more informed business decisions.
The six pillars can be used to move from ambition to action
- Create a "strategy" for building sustainable value
- Rethink how you define "enterprise value performance" beyond reporting
- Embed sustainability in the inner workings of "leadership"
- Focus on measurement, accountability, and governance
- Leverage technology solutions to collect and curate ESG data
- Deliver on stakeholder expectations and requirements
