Just a couple of years back, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the Philippines mandated publicly listed companies to disclose on their sustainability practices as part of the SEC17-A Annual Report. While this was introduced following a ‘comply or explain’ approach, companies took on the challenge rather quickly. The SEC has provided a number of global reporting standards frameworks for companies to pattern their report on. Of these, the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) standards has become the most widely used.

     Immediately, we saw the rise of sustainability reporting webinars, trainings, and even consultancy services. Before companies can even take off on the reporting journey, the clamor for a wider scope and deep-dive discussions on strategy and sustainability targets emerged rapidly. The increasing demand from investors for companies to disclose on climate-related risks may have accelerated this. One of the most accepted framework is The Task Force for Climate Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD). Such disclosures provide insights on how companies assess climate risks, explore scenarios, and manage its eventualtiy.

     Heedless to the fact that companies may have more than enough on their plates to process GRI and TCFD, the Covid-19 pandemic posed another scenario. This time, one that explicitly demonstrated how inter-connected and inter-dependent we all are – through our supply chain, our human resources, the environmental risks such as air quality and market trends. We were faced with great challenges – testing the limits of our health systems, the inclusivity of our supply chains, the flexibility of human resource management and the robustness of our financial services. Seeing sustainability and business resilience to be integrated, some companies have found the value of adopting the Integrated Thinking approach, anchoring their reports to the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC).

     Taking it one step further, the IIRC saw the value of merging with the Sustainable Accounting Standards Board, establishing the Value Reporting Foundation (VRF). The intent was to help companies communicate their long-term strategy and provide a comprehensive view of business to all their investors and providers of capital, as reported by IIRC in June this year.