Sustainability and KPI Services

A closer look at sustainability and KPI services

The pace of social change and environmental impact is moving fast. How can companies keep up and drive sustainable, long-term value? Transparent management of and reporting on these topics is one way. When armed with valuable data, companies can be better informed when making internal business decisions and stakeholders have access to the information they want.

Engaging sustainability and KPI services methods can help companies:

• Define their critical stakeholders

• Measure relevant KPIs

• Provide credible, reliable disclosures

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SASB to release codification of standards

The Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) is set to release their codified standards in October 2018. This is important because the standards:

1. Serve as a foundation for reporting the non-financial information investors are increasingly looking for, in addition to financial information, when making investment decisions.
2. Are industry specific. SASB’s standards are specific to 79 industries across 11 sectors. The standards reflect that each industry is affected by environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues differently.
3. Are applicable internationally and align with other existing reporting frameworks and standards such as the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), Integrated Reporting, Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and CDP (formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project).

What should I do next?
Companies should consider what non-financial information they report and whether it meets investor needs. We encourage companies to review the SASB standards for their applicable sector and industry to understand where they may not be reporting relevant non-financial information and contact us with questions.

To learn more about the SASB Standards, contact us at sustainabilityreporting@deloitte.com or visit their website at www.sasb.org.

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Sustainability can be a top risk for senior leaders

While many stakeholders believe non-financial KPIs can tell the story, one barrier to using this type of data is often the lack of high-quality, material information. Also, with so many non-financial KPI disclosures, stakeholders need to have confidence in the relevance, accuracy, consistency, and completeness of the KPIs.

How can businesses build confidence with stakeholders and tell a powerful value creation story? Deloitte can help companies provide stakeholders with metrics that matter.

Our sustainability and KPI services drive efficiency and value by helping a company:

• Evaluate which types of information stakeholders need to measure performance

• Communicate the company’s value creation story to enhance stakeholder trust

• Incorporate a broader universe of risks and opportunities into enterprise risk management

• Establish an integrated approach to governance, non-financial KPI definition and prioritization, data management, reporting processes, controls, and assurance

Take a closer look at our sustainability and KPI services below.

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Disclosure strategy

Companies’ disclosures should meet the needs of their stakeholders.

We can help companies build a disclosure strategy based on stakeholder needs, current reporting practices, and industry trends by:

• Assessing the current state of sustainability, ESG, or other KPI reporting (multiple outlets and objectives)

• Mapping key stakeholders critical to driving value and identify topics that may be important to them

• Integrating ESG and other risks into enterprise risk management (ERM)

• Identifying KPIs that align strategy, performance, and stakeholder expectations

• Developing a technology-enabled roadmap for disclosure

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Performance measurement

Reporting based on a standard or other relevant criteria can help enhance the comparability and accuracy of the disclosed information.

We can help companies measure performance by:

• Aligning KPIs to existing standards, where available

• Establishing criteria to enable consistency and comparability in measurement and disclosure

• Evaluating existing governance, systems, processes, and controls

• Measuring and preparing KPI disclosures in accordance with standards or other criteria

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Assurance services

Having assurance can enhance the reliability of the disclosed information, increasing stakeholder confidence. Deloitte offers both internal and external assurance services over sustainability and other KPI information.

We help companies:

• Agree to assurance objectives and level of assurance

• Understand suitable, available criteria for disclosure KPIs

• Understand governance, systems, processes, and controls to drive accountability and rigor

• Provide assurance and issue related assurance reports

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GRI certified training courses

Certified as a training partner by the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), Deloitte offers the Certified Trainng Program in the United States. This program focuses on the GRI Standards that were released in October 2016. 

Learn more about the two-day GRI certified training course we offer to help participants understand and manage the GRI sustainability reporting process. 

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