IIRC welcomes report towards consistent reporting on sustainable value creation

The International Integrated Reporting Council has today [23 September 2020] welcomed the publication of the report by the World Economic Forum, in partnership with Deloitte, EY, KPMG and PwC, ‘Towards Common Metrics and Consistent Reporting of Sustainable Value Creation’.

The report is a welcome step towards identifying metrics that can support effective long-term sustainable value creation and is ‘fundamentally complementary’ to the joint statement the IIRC issued with CDP, CDSB, GRI and SASB earlier this month.

It sets out the importance of metrics that can be integrated into ‘governance, business strategy and performance management’, consistent with the International Integrated Reporting Framework.

Commenting on the publication, Charles Tilley, CEO, IIRC said:

“There is now universal agreement amongst the key players in the corporate reporting field that businesses need a comprehensive, holistic system to report effectively on how they create value. This paper is a welcome advancement towards this, as we coordinate efforts to provide a clear set of metrics for reporting across the value chain.

“The role of the International <IR> Framework is, at a principles-based level, to guide the holistic reporting process so that businesses think and communicate strategically about the whole range of resources and relationships their business model requires to create value over time, as well as the risks and opportunities that may affect this.

“Robust integrated reporting requires metrics to support this process and we recognise the call from the business and investor community for a consistent set of metrics that can be used internationally to drive comparability and better business and investor management. The report today, and the statement issued earlier this month, are vital steps towards this.”

Speaking to an audience hosted by the International Federation of Accountants as part of Climate Week, Mark Carney discussed the important role integrated reporting can play, saying:

“The goal of COP 26 is to put in place reporting frameworks so that every finance decision takes into account climate change”. He continued, “It starts with reporting…this should be integrated reporting.”