INVITATION

Mapping the sustainability reporting landscape: Lost in the right direction?

21 June 2016

Press Club, rue Froissart 95, 1000, Brussels

14.30pm-16.45pm followed by a cocktail reception

Society’s changing expectations of the corporate sector have been matched by the emergence of a range of new reporting guidance, some voluntary, some mandatory. However, the absence of agreed, standard terminology for describing and defining the components of the sustainability reporting landscape contributes to the confusion and complexity that currently characterises it.

As far as reporting on sustainability is concerned, we seem to be moving in the right direction, but we are still somewhat uncertain about our final destination. Is it US GAAP supported by the new SASB standards? Is it GRI 6? Is it <IR 3> or is it some stakeholder-determined amalgam of all these (and others)? It may well be that the end result will not be the perfect ‘please-everybody solution grounded in unshakeable logic’ that we dream of but, rather, a pragmatically segmented solution driven equally by the shifting politics of standard setting and the tensions inherent in the sustainability versus shareholder wealth debate.

To address and discuss  these concerns, ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) and CDSB (Climate Disclosure Standards Board) are launching a new report called Mapping the sustainability reporting landscape –  Lost in the right direction, which proposes terminology, tools and approaches that might prove useful in explaining and navigating this terrain, and provides us with a useful ‘sustainability compass’ to help us navigate the constantly shifting landscape that is corporate sustainability. To help those in the corporate sector determine which particular piece of guidance is most applicable to their needs, the report sets out a high level, demand-driven framework for determining which reporting path to choose and then reinforces that framework with practical application guidance.

ACCA and CDSB are therefore delighted to invite you to the launch of the report. This will be the starting point of a lively debate between experts on the relevance and interaction of the various existing non-financial/sustainability reporting frameworks, including the implementation of the Non-Financial Reporting Directive and its implication of companies reporting of extra-financial information, as well as sustainability reporting globally. It will take place at the Press Club in Brussels on 21 June, from 2.30pm until 16.45.00pm, followed by a cocktail reception.

 Please reply by 7 June to cecile.bonino@accaglobal.com

 Draft agenda

14.00h registration and coffee

14.30h Welcome speech Jimmy Greer, Senior Manager, Business Focus, ACCA

14.35h Presentation of the report, Lois Guthrie, Founding Director, CDSB

14.50h Panel discussion moderated by Jimmy Greer, ACCA

·                   Lois Guthrie, CDSB

·                   Nicolas Bernier-Abad, DG FISMA

·                   Lars Mueller, DG ENVI,

·                   Flavia Micilotta, Secretary General Eurosif

·                   David Szafran, Lawyer at Law Square and Chair of ISAR 30th session at UNCTAD

·                   Elisabeth Gambert, Directeur RSE et Affaires Internationales, AFEP

16.00h Key note speech, Cora van Nieuwenhuizen, MEP

16.10h Q&As

16.30h key note concluding remarks, Karl Falkenberg, Special Adviser to the European Commission President on sustainable development

16.40h Conclusions, Lois Guthrie, CDSB

16.45h Cocktail reception