CARROTS AND STICKS – PROMOTING ... - Global Reporting Initiative

22 Carrots and Sticks - Promoting Transparency and Sustainability
4.2 Regional
Europe
Standards, Codes and Guidelines
information requests CDP seeks to encourage private
and public sector organisations to measure, manage
and reduce emissions and climate change impacts.
A ‘responding company’ is a company that receives
and responds to the CDP Information Request. A
request covers: 1) Management’s views on the risks
and opportunities that climate change presents to the
business, 2) Greenhouse gas emissions accounting,
3) Management’s strategy to reduce emissions and/
or minimise risk and capitalise on opportunity; and
4) Corporate governance with regard to climate
change. The response to the information request
provides a high level of visibility and accountability
to all stakeholders including institutional investors.
Information received through the annual CDP
questionnaire on a corporation’s greenhouse gas
emissions is stored in the CDP’s database. The
information is readily available to investors and
stakeholders. www.cdproject.net
Assurance standards
� The International Standard on Assurance
Engagements (ISAE) 3000, Assurance Engagements
other than Audits or Reviews of Historical Financial
Information was developed by the International
Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) of
the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC).
IFAC is the body responsible for issuing international
accounting and auditing standards for the accounting
profession. ISAE 3000 came into force in December
2003 and is used by accounting firms to guide their
assurance engagements on sustainability reports.
www.ifac.org
� AA1000 Assurance Standard (AA1000AS), 2008
issued by the UK-based AccountAbility provides a
comprehensive approach to holding an organisation
to account for its management, performance and
reporting on sustainability issues by evaluating the
adherence of an organisation to the AccountAbility
Principles (AA1000APS) and the reliability of
associated performance information. It was developed
through a multi-stakeholder process and is designed
to help ensure that reporting and assurance
meets stakeholders’ needs and expectations.
www.accountability.org.uk
Mandatory standards
� EU modernisation directive, 2003: Directive
2003/51 (the ‘Modernisation Directive’) amended the
Accounting Directives and added that European
companies are required to also include non-financial
information in their annual and consolidated reports
if it is necessary for an understanding of the
company’s development, performance or position.