IWhen clients call
Services / 11 — ESG & sustainability
Sustainability reporting is becoming a financial reporting problem, not a marketing one.
ESG reporting and disclosure, sustainability assurance, carbon and emissions reporting support, and ESG readiness assessments — for businesses facing new reporting expectations from lenders, investors and international buyers.
ESG reporting is moving from voluntary to expected, and in some markets to mandatory, faster than most finance functions have been resourced for. We treat it the way we treat financial reporting: numbers that need a defensible basis, a control environment, and — increasingly — independent assurance.
A lender or buyer has asked for ESG disclosures you don't have?
This usually arrives as a deadline, not a project brief. Tell us what's being asked for and we'll tell you what's realistic to produce, and by when.
A lender or investor has asked for ESG data we don't currently collect.
A gap assessment establishes what exists, what's missing, and what can realistically be produced first.
An international buyer wants supply-chain sustainability disclosures.
Reporting built to the framework the buyer actually expects, not a generic sustainability statement.
We want external assurance over our sustainability report before publishing it.
Independent assurance that gives the report credibility with the audience actually reading it.
IFRS S1 and S2 are becoming relevant to us and we don't know what changes.
A practical explanation of what the standards require and what preparing for them actually involves.
We're not sure which reporting framework applies to us.
GRI, SASB and the IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards, matched to who's actually asking and why.
Our sustainability report reads well but nobody has checked the numbers.
The same rigour applied to financial numbers, applied to the ESG data underneath the narrative.
We need to measure and report our carbon footprint for the first time.
Emissions measurement built on a defensible methodology, not an estimate that won't survive scrutiny.
Our board wants ESG risk on its regular agenda, not a once-a-year slide.
A governance structure and reporting cadence built to support that, not a one-off document.
IIWhat we do
Scope of the ESG and sustainability practice
Sustainability reporting treated with the same discipline as financial reporting — a defensible basis, traceable data, and assurance where it's needed.
01
ESG reporting and disclosure
Reports built with the same rigour as financial statements, because they are increasingly read the same way.
- Sustainability report preparation
- Framework selection and mapping — GRI, SASB, IFRS S1/S2
- Materiality assessment
- Stakeholder disclosure alignment
- Narrative and data integration
02
Sustainability assurance
Independent assurance that gives ESG disclosures the same credibility as audited numbers.
- Limited assurance engagements over sustainability reports
- Assurance readiness assessment
- Data and control testing over reported metrics
- Assurance reporting aligned to recognised standards
03
Carbon and emissions reporting
Measurement built on a defensible methodology from the start.
- Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions measurement
- Emissions inventory methodology design
- Data collection process design
- Emissions reporting for disclosure and assurance
04
ESG readiness assessment
Establishing what exists before committing to a reporting timeline.
- Gap assessment against target frameworks
- Data availability and quality review
- Roadmap and reporting-timeline development
- Governance and ownership structure review
05
Framework alignment and compliance
Matching the right framework to who is actually asking.
- IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards (S1/S2) alignment
- GRI and SASB framework mapping
- Lender and investor-specific disclosure requirements
- Supply-chain and buyer-driven disclosure requirements
06
ESG governance advisory
Structural input into how ESG gets owned and reviewed internally.
- Board and committee ESG oversight structure
- Policy and target-setting support
- ESG risk register development
- Reporting cadence and internal review process
07
ESG data systems and controls
Where the numbers come from, and whether that process would survive assurance.
- ESG data collection process design
- Control design over non-financial data
- Systems and tooling assessment
- Data reconciliation to underlying records
08
Stakeholder and disclosure support
Getting the report to the audience it's actually written for.
- Investor and lender disclosure packs
- Supply-chain questionnaire response support
- Benchmark and peer disclosure review
- Disclosure review ahead of publication
IIIReporting frameworks
Reporting frameworks, and who's usually asking for them
Which framework applies depends on who is asking and why — a lender, an investor and a buyer often want different things from the same underlying data.
| Framework | Who's typically asking |
|---|---|
| GRI (Global Reporting Initiative) | General stakeholder reporting — often the default starting point for a first sustainability report. |
| SASB (Sustainability Accounting Standards Board) | Investors, focused on industry-specific financial materiality rather than broad stakeholder reporting. |
| IFRS S1 & S2 (Sustainability Disclosure Standards) | Increasingly expected alongside financial statements as adoption spreads across jurisdictions. |
| Buyer-specific questionnaires | International buyers assessing suppliers against their own supply-chain standards. |
We help identify the right framework before building a report around the wrong one — reworking a report to a different framework later costs considerably more than getting this decision right first.
Where assurance and preparation stay separate
Preparing a sustainability report and then providing assurance over that same report creates a self-review threat, the same as it would for financial statements — we do not do both for the same client on the same report.
Where we are your statutory auditor, ESG advisory work is scoped so it does not create an independence issue under the ICAP Code of Ethics. We will tell you where that boundary falls before we quote.
IVHow we work on ESG engagements
Six things that make ESG numbers defensible
01
Treated with the same rigour as financial reporting
An ESG number gets the same question a financial number gets: where did this come from, and can it be traced back to a source.
02
Framework matched to the actual audience
We start from who is asking and why, not from whichever framework is best known, and build the report around that.
03
Assurance-ready from the first draft
Reports are structured so that if assurance is sought later — this year or in three years — the underlying data already supports it.
04
Materiality decided, not assumed
What gets reported is based on an actual materiality assessment, not a template list of ESG topics copied from a competitor's report.
05
Data traced to source
Every reported metric can be traced back to where it came from — the same standard applied to a line item in a financial statement.
06
Proportionate to the business
A small exporter facing a buyer questionnaire needs a different scope of work from a listed company preparing for mandatory disclosure — we scope to what's actually being asked for.
These are the firm's controls applied to ESG work specifically. The full set, applied to every engagement of any type, is published.
VHow it's delivered
Three ways this gets engaged
Which of these is needed depends on where the business currently stands — we help work that out before proposing a scope.
Route 01
Readiness and gap assessment
A first look before committing to a reporting framework or timeline.
- Typically used for
- Establishing what data exists, what's missing, and what's realistic to produce first
- What you get
- A clear picture of the current position and a realistic roadmap
- Watch for
- This step is often skipped in favour of jumping straight to a report — skipping it usually costs more later
Route 02
Report preparation
Building the sustainability report and underlying disclosures for a defined reporting period.
- Typically used for
- Producing a report mapped to the framework that matters to the actual audience reading it
- What you get
- A structured report with data traceable back to source
- Watch for
- Report preparation and assurance over the same report can't both sit with us — the two need to stay separate
Route 03
Assurance engagement
Independent assurance over a report prepared internally or by another adviser.
- Typically used for
- Giving external readers — lenders, investors, regulators — a reason to trust the numbers
- What you get
- An assurance opinion or conclusion aligned to a recognised standard
- Watch for
- Assurance readiness should be checked before the reporting period closes, not after the report is already drafted
A first ESG engagement is usually a readiness assessment — it tells us, and you, what the other two routes should actually involve.
VICommon questions
Questions we are asked
Do we need ESG assurance, or just a report?
It depends on who's asking. Investors, lenders and regulated markets increasingly expect independent assurance; a buyer's supply-chain questionnaire typically does not, yet. We'll tell you what your specific audience actually requires rather than default to the more expensive option.
Which framework should we use — GRI, SASB or IFRS S1/S2?
It depends on who is reading the report. GRI suits general stakeholder reporting, SASB is investor-focused on financial materiality, and IFRS S1/S2 is increasingly expected alongside financial statements. We help identify the right one before work starts, not after a report is drafted to the wrong one.
Can you prepare our report and then provide assurance over it?
No. Preparing a report and then providing assurance over the same report creates a self-review threat, the same as it would for financial statements. We do one or the other for a given report, not both.
How do you measure Scope 3 emissions when we don't control our supply chain?
Through accepted estimation methodologies built on the best available data, disclosed transparently as estimates rather than presented as precise measurements. This is standard practice — very few organisations have direct visibility over their full supply chain.
Is ESG reporting mandatory for us?
It depends on your listing status, sector and the jurisdictions you operate in or sell into — requirements are moving quickly and unevenly across markets. We tell you what actually applies to your specific position rather than assume either way.
How long does a first ESG report take to prepare?
It depends heavily on data availability — a business that already tracks the underlying information moves considerably faster than one starting from nothing. A readiness assessment gives a realistic timeline before a reporting deadline is committed to.
How is ESG work priced?
Readiness assessments and report preparation are scoped and fixed-fee once the framework and data position are known. Assurance engagements are priced per standard assurance-engagement practice once the scope is agreed.
Related
Where ESG work connects
Let's work together
Tell us who's asking, and what they want to see.
A lender, an investor, a buyer, or your own board. A partner will tell you what's realistic to produce and on what timeline.