ESG reporting standards- GRI vs ISSB vs ESRS.

At Akira Consult, we are champions of ESG and #esgintegration from a fundamental principle point of view. We need to think about, act and align our businesses from an environmental, social and governance standpoint and thereafter report and disclose how we are doing. All this for #sustainablebusiness and #sustainabledevelopment.

An interesting perspective on how companies should posture on how they ‘lead with ESG’ by a CEO of one of the largest investment firms, Larry Fink (BlackRock Inc) https://lnkd.in/ehrsw3uJ seems to suggest that the use of the phrase ESG and all the subsequent actions that have taken place has over-politicised the intent of #esginvesting rather than embedded it as a good metric for investors and firms alike to selecting stocks or carrying out #sustainablebusiness. The rush to compliance reporting and disclosure does not help the conversation as #greenwashing becomes rampant, and short term ESG actions replace more thoughtful business approaches by companies; not forgetting the low returns recorded by some in the effort of attracting #esg conscious investors.

That said, it seems the standards in #esgreporting are gaining clarity. One of the frustrations about ESG is the lack of a harmonised set of standards for reporting, a bar to compliance and making it hard for businesses to benchmark their impact.

The Global reporting institute (GRI) an independent organisation, took the lead and in 2000 launched its initial guidelines for businesses to report on Sustainability. In 2021, the guidelines were revised as Universal Standards. GRI is now working on sector specific standards. P.S: Kenya’s sustainability reporting for listed entities is currently aligned to the GRI standards through the NSE guidelines.

Last month in June 2023, the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) started its journey in Sustainability reporting. It introduced IFRS S1 and S2, and focusses on disclosures for purposes of the Capital markets and investments. It is interesting to note that supporters for these standards included the IOSCO (where Kenya is a member) and the G20 (where South Africa is the only participating African country). We are curious to see how Kenyan listed companies shall merge the two standards: the GRI and ISSB as we already use the IFRS for our financial reporting.

For the European Companies – the leaders in #esggoals ; watch out, the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) are on their way and where 68% of the Europrean Countries are already using the GRI reporting standards.

Whether the world shall continue appreciating ESG and #sustainabilityreporting , it is clear that jurisdictions need to make a call on which set of standards to support and additionally, how to positively frame reporting. We at Akira Consult continue to remain as champions of the cause and are happy to engage in being part of a #sustainablefuture.