RECENT AND FUTURE TRENDS IN SUSTAINABILITY REPORTING

Abstract

Few non-mandatory standards on sustainability reporting have been developed in the last two decades as a result of few global initiatives, including the Global Reporting Initiative, the International Integrated Reporting Council, the Taskforce for ClimateRelated Financial Disclosures, etc. In April 2021, the European Union updated its NonFinancial Reporting Directive. Moreover, the World Economic Forum issued its new standards on common metrics and consistent reporting for sustainable value creation. These and few other initiatives and standards currently shape the sustainability reporting landscape. But the need for harmonization of non-financial reporting is on its way to change it. The lack of one single global set of standards is challenging the standard setters, policymakers, and other stakeholders and some have already started to cooperate. In early November 2021, the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) Foundation Trustees announced the establishment of a new standard-setting board – the International Sustainability Standards Board, to meet the demand of high quality, transparent, reliable, and comparable reporting by companies on climate and other environment, social and governance (ESG) matters. Inspired by the urgency of more holistic and comprehensive corporate reporting encompassing company’s ESG metrics and disclosures, this paper aims at collecting discussions on the future of sustainability reporting through the lens of the recently identified trends in its development.