Our vision is for transparent, consistent, comparable reporting of environmental, social and economic (‘sustainability’) outcomes that drive and reflect progress towards a more inclusive, sustainable and prosperous world.
Sustainability reporting enables organisations to manage and articulate their full scope of business risks, as well as the contributions that they make to the wider world.
We have collaborated with organisations across the investment chain to develop and implement sustainability reporting standards. We have done this by aligning with, testing and adopting global standards where they already exist.
We take a practitioner led approach
Our work with policy makers, regulatory bodies and multilateral agencies is shaped by our practitioner led approach. We do not duplicate existing sustainability reporting efforts but build on them, and we believe that the search for the perfect should not drive out, or delay, the search for the good.
We regularly respond to key consultations, for example from the UK government, CFA UK, the UK’s professional membership body representing investment professionals, as well as the International Financial Reporting Standards Foundation (IFRF), and the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) .
Whilst we focus on impact reporting, we engage with the broader sustainability agenda, which includes Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance (ESG).
Global and transparent standards
More and more consumers, investors and policy makers want to see companies report transparently on the positive and negative impact of their business activities on the environment and society. But the lack of global reporting standards makes it difficult for companies to measure and report their impact in a consistent and comparable way, and for investors and individuals to assess and compare this impact.
Together with partners, policy makers, and regulators, we advocate for the harmonisation of global impact measurement and reporting standards and their adoption in the UK. We want to make it easier for businesses and organisations to incorporate impact at the heart of their business models, and have set out our vision for transparent, consistent, comparable reporting of environmental, social and economic outcomes.
We support the intent of five global standard setters, whose frameworks, standards and platforms guide the majority of sustainability and integrated reporting, to work towards a shared vision of what is needed for progress towards comprehensive corporate reporting.
Our vision for easier and more accessible impact reporting
More and more consumers, investors and policy makers are interested in the long-term sustainability of businesses and more businesses and organisations want to incorporate impact at the heart of what they do. To make reporting of environmental, social and economic outcomes easier, the Institute has laid out its vision for transparent, consistent, and comparable reporting.
Sustainability Reporting Standard for Social Housing
As part of the ESG Social Housing Working Group, the Institute helped develop the Sustainability Reporting Standard for Social Housing. The Standard makes it easier for housing providers to report on their ESG performance in a transparent, consistent and comparable way and attract more private impact capital to help tackle the UK’s deepening housing crisis.
Technology-enabled impact reporting practice across the investment chain
Our joint report in partnership with Deloitte, highlights that while progress in impact reporting practice is being made, the challenges to effective impact reporting practice are great. Without significant action from progressive keystone players, the rate of change in impact reporting practice will be insufficient to meet society’s global challenges including the climate emergency. A summary of the report is available here.
Growing a Culture for Impact Investing in the UK: Better reporting
This paper by the Social Impact Investing Implementation Taskforce and Deloitte from October 2018, forms part of the Taskforce response to the third key recommendation of the report of the Advisory Group on Social Impact Investing to “develop better reporting of non-financial outcomes”, which was subsequently refined by the Taskforce as “better reporting of social and environmental impact.”
Responding to the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) consultation discussion paper on the future of corporate reporting
In February 2021, the Institute submitted its response to the Financial Reporting Council’s (FRC) Discussion Paper, ‘A Matter of Principles: The Future of Corporate Reporting.’
Responding to the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) consultation on sustainability reporting
On 23 December 2020, the Institute submitted its response to the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) Foundation’s Consultation Paper on Sustainability Reporting.