Stockholm (NordSIP) – One of the main hurdles faced by sustainable investors seeking to integrate ESG considerations into their investment process is the wide diversity and lack of standards for the information published by companies in their corporate disclosures. While in Europe regulatory reforms are underway, in the USA, a number of initiatives have emerged, whose adoption could be leveraged on a global scale. To avoid unnecessary regulatory complexity, a consolidation of these initiatives appears to be on the way.
On June 9th, the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC) and the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) officially announced their merger to form the Value Reporting Foundation (VRF). The Foundation supports business and investor decision-making through three key resources to help businesses and investors develop a shared understanding of enterprise value and how it evolves over time.
“Both the IIRC and SASB are celebrating their 10-year anniversaries. Over those 10 years, we both built solid support, changing the way countless businesses and investors think about how value is created, preserved or eroded over time. Together, as the Value Reporting Foundation we can go further and faster, working with our partners towards a globally agreed system that supports much needed sustainable development around the world,” says Charles Tilley, CEO of the IIRC until the completion of the merger and Board Director and Senior Advisor to the Value Reporting Foundation.
The VRF provides integrated thinking principles, an integrated reporting framework and the SASB Standards. The Foundation is also committed to the delivery of a more coherent corporate reporting system by working closely with the IFRS Foundation and other leading framework providers and standard-setters around the world.
“We have listened to the strong demand from businesses and investors for a simplified corporate reporting landscape,” Janine Guillot, CEO, Value Reporting Foundation says. “By combining the tools, resources and relationships of SASB and IIRC, the Value Reporting Foundation will continue to advance progress towards a more coherent landscape and continue to support the important efforts of the IFRS Foundation. The end result will be comparable, consistent and reliable information that enables more holistic decision making by businesses and investors,” Guillot says.
“We’re seeing a lot of great progress on sustainability disclosure and integrated reporting, especially when it comes to the risks and opportunities around climate change. This merger is another important step forward towards a stronger, more resilient economy – and a brighter, safer future,” Michael Bloomberg, Chair Emeritus, Value Reporting Foundation and former Mayor of New Your City adds.
Business leaders from 14 countries, including Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, France, India, Italy, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, the UK and the US have welcomed the Value Reporting Foundation as a means to enabling robust long-term thinking and more holistic corporate reporting.
Graeme Pitkethly, CFO of Unilever supported the new initiative.“Unilever advocates for a multi-stakeholder business model. Integrated reporting is a key enabler ensuring business risks are clearly understood, and that there is comparable reporting. We hope this merger will be a catalyst for the harmonization of sustainability standards and metrics,” Pitkethly concludes.
“We’re seeing a lot of great progress on sustainability disclosure and integrated reporting, especially when it comes to the risks and opportunities around climate change. This merger is another important step forward towards a stronger, more resilient economy – and a brighter, safer future,” Michael Bloomberg, Chair Emeritus, Value Reporting Foundation and former Mayor of New Your City adds.
