Sustainability Reporting - A Practical Approach

The SGX announced in October 2014 that it will be mandating a “comply or explain” approach to sustainability reporting for listed companies. Increasingly, investors are including analysis of company’s sustainability risks/opportunities in their investment decisions. The world’s largest financial information providers, Bloomberg & Thomson Reuters, both provide sustainability ratings, and analysis.

So what’s all the fuss about? What exactly is sustainability? Does it relate to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and business strategy? What type of sustainability information should companies be disclosing? This 2 day course has been put together to address these questions and guide participants through the sustainability reporting requirements of SGX and GRI.

GRI, the global standard for reporting, released new guidelines in May 2013. These new guidelines (GRI G4) make it easier for companies to start reporting. During the course we will explain the significance of these guidelines and provide step by step guidance on producing a report.

The course is relevant to companies that are considering reporting, either within the Annual Report, as a separate standalone Sustainability Report or an Integrated Report. Our course draws on case study examples from local, regional and international reporting.

This workshop is delivered by Paia who has direct experience producing over 100 Sustainability Reports, many of which have won local and international awards.

What You Will Learn:

The training aims to address the following questions:

1. What is sustainability reporting and why do companies report? Why is SGX enforcing a ‘comply-or-explain’ policy on sustainability reporting for listed companies?

2. How does sustainability reporting relate to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Integrated Reporting and business strategy?

3. How will reporting benefit my business and enhance investor and stakeholder relations?

4. How can I apply GRI & SGX’s sustainability reporting guidelines to my organization?

5. Who are my stakeholders? Why is it important to engage them?

6. How do I identify key issues for my organisation? How do I determine what to report?

What You Will Gain:

We will present best practice examples across local, regional and international reporting. We will teach you practical tools to:

1. Develop an effective and meaningful sustainability reporting program

2. Identify and assess material issues to report

3. Engage key stakeholders on what matters

4. Review Assurance Statements and know what to look for when getting reports assured.

Who Should Attend

· Listed companies seeking to understand the details and implications of the SGX Sustainability Reporting Guidelines and Policy Statement

· Companies looking to produce, or improve upon, a Sustainability Report

· Companies seeking to enhance their corporate communications and investor relations programmes

For more information, please email or call Diana Chng at diana@csrsingapore.org at (65) 6827 6825.