Organisations

This report recommends a set of sector-specific, SDG-related metrics by drawing on metrics from existing standard setters and benchmarks. It was published by the Global Investors for Sustainable Development (GISD) Alliance, a group of 30 large investment firms that aims to scale-up long-term finance and investment in sustainable development. The GISD is steered by UN DESA.

Use this resource for the following Actions of Impact Management:

• Communicate: Include recommended SDG-related metrics in stakeholder disclosures.

Outlines the key stages of an assurance engagement, expectations of assurance professionals, and common types of information included in Extended External Reporting (EER) assurance engagements. The guidance has been developed to support assurers who are applying the ISAE 3000.

Use this resource to:

• Verification, assurance and certification: This guidance is not aimed at organisations but provides detailed information on issues that arise when assuring EER such as sustainability performance information, which organisations may still find useful.

A standard for assurance professionals that covers any assurance engagement other than audits or reviews of historical financial information.

Use this resource to:

• Verification, assurance and certification: Organisations may require that their third-party assurance providers apply this standard to ensure adherence to global best practices.

The SDG Impact Assurance Scheme is an assurance criteria for demonstrating adherence to the SDG Impact Standards for Enterprises, Private Equity Funds or Bonds, and associated certification.

Use this resource for the following Actions of Impact Management:

• Verification, assurance & certification: Certify that an organisation’s systems and processes adhere to the SDG Impact Standards.

Reporting framework that provides principles-based guidance for organisations seeking to create an integrated report, containing both financial and non-financial information. The guidance is tailored specifically for private sector, for-profit companies, but the Framework can also be applied to the public sector and non-for-profit organisations.

Use this resource to:

• Communicate: Report to providers of financial capital on sustainability topics that are likely to affect value creation over the short-, medium-, and long-term.

This reporting framework offers companies seven guiding principles and 12 reporting requirements to help prepare (financially) material and decision-useful environmental disclosures for the mainstream report. CDSB additionally offers topic-specific guidance for companies, such as on climate-related reporting and climate accounting.

Use this resource to:

• Measure, assess and value: Understand the measurement and disclosure standards and guidance for organisations, so that investors can provide capacity to the asset to help adherence.
• Communicate: Understand how underlying assets might prepare environmental and climate change information in a way that connects to mainstream financial information.

Guidance that contains disclosure recommendations for information on the material financial impacts of climate-related risks and opportunities, including those related to the global transition to a lower-carbon economy. The TCFD recommendations are structured around the four pillars of Governance, Strategy, Risk Management, and Metrics and Targets.

Use this resource to:

• Communicate: Follow recommendations to structure climate-related financial disclosures. Other voluntary standards can be used in conjunction with TCFD recommendations.

CDP’s Disclosure System is a tool for investors, companies, cities, states and regions to manage their environmental impacts. It enables these organisations to make their environmental impacts transparent, to understand how to reduce their negative impacts and to progress towards environmental stewardship.

Use this resource for the following Actions of Impact Management:

• Communicate: Report to all stakeholders on climate change, forests and water security, based on the organisation’s governance and policy, risks and opportunity management, environmental targets, and strategy and scenario analysis. Responses receive a grade from A-D based on the organisation’s disclosed performance.

The SASB Standards are reporting standards that provide industry-specific disclosure topics and associated metrics for measuring performance across 26 General Issue Categories (or sustainability topics). Management or mismanagement of performance on these sustainability topics may create, preserve or erode value for a typical organisation in a given industry over time.

Use this resource for the following Actions of Impact Management:

• Communicate: Report to providers of financial capital on sustainability topics that are likely to affect how value is created, sustained or eroded for the organisation over the short-, medium- and long-term.

The SDG Action Manager is a digital tool designed to help organisations measure their impact across various sustainability areas, set goals aligned with the SDGs, and track progress over time. The questionnaire, which draws from B Lab’s B Impact Assessment and the UN Global Compact’s 10 Principles, enables organisations to collect performance information on the SDGs that are most relevant to manage, based on its size, sector and geography. It was developed through research and public consultation and so provides an evidence-based starting point for identifying sustainability topics to measure.

Use this resource for the following Actions of Impact Management:

• Governance: Prioritise governance mechanisms that address the organisation’s key sustainability risks and enhance its resilience against potential challenges.
• Identify: Understand the most relevant SDGs to manage based on the organisation’s size, sector, and geography.
• Measure, assess and value: Obtain a set of metrics.
• Set targets and plan: Set specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) targets related to sustainable development. Organisations can align their targets with the specific indicators and targets outlined in the SDGs.