ACCA-可持续性报告_风险和重要性（英）-2025.2_21页_5mb

报告摘要

Sustainability Reporting - Risk and Materiality Summary

Core Content

This document outlines ACCA's guidance on identifying, assessing, and disclosing sustainability-related risks and opportunities (SRROs) as part of the sustainability reporting process. It provides a structured three-step approach to help organisations systematically evaluate their SRROs and determine what information should be disclosed. The guidance is aimed at accountants, finance professionals, and business leaders to improve their sustainability reporting practices, especially for lesser-resourced organisations such as small and medium-sized entities (SMEs).

Main Steps in the Process

Step 1: Identifying the Organisation's SRROs

Understanding the organisation's context is crucial. This includes knowledge of business activities, resources, relationships, and the regulatory environment.
Scanning the environment involves reviewing current and potential regulatory and reporting changes in the organisation’s operating jurisdictions and those of its key stakeholders.
Leveraging existing risk-management processes can help identify SRROs more efficiently, avoiding duplication of effort.
Involving staff from different functions is essential, as they have insights into daily operations and can identify risks and opportunities within the value chain.
Qualitative assessments (e.g., red, amber, green ratings) are useful for initial risk identification, especially when quantitative data is not immediately available.

Step 2: Assessing the Potential Effects of SRROs

Quantitative assessments are necessary to understand the potential impact of SRROs on the organisation's future cash flows, access to finance, and cost of capital.
Collaboration across functions is key to collecting and analysing data from various perspectives, including financial, operational, and social impacts.
Cross-functional teams can provide a more holistic view of SRROs and their multifaceted effects.
Engaging stakeholders (e.g., local communities, human rights groups) can validate the organisation’s SRROs and ensure that the information disclosed is relevant and useful.
Iterative processes may be needed to refine the assessment and incorporate new data as it becomes available.

Step 3: Determining Material Information for Disclosure

Materiality is determined based on the relevance and significance of the information to stakeholders' decisions.
Material information should explain the SRRO, its current and future effects on the organisation, and the business case for managing it.
Primary users (e.g., investors, regulators) and other users (e.g., employees, customers) may have different needs and expectations regarding the information disclosed.
Guidance from reporting frameworks (e.g., IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards, ESRS) is essential in determining what information is material.
Judgement is required in assessing materiality, especially when dealing with double materiality (both financial and social materiality).

Key Points

Pragmatism is important in sustainability reporting; focus on the most relevant information and continue to improve the process.
Lesser-resourced organisations can benefit from collaboration with Small and Medium Practices (SMPs) to address SRROs, especially in areas like climate change and modern slavery.
Technology and collaboration play a vital role in collecting, analysing, and using data to support sustainability-related decisions.
Training and upskilling are necessary to ensure that organisations have the capability to perform sustainability risk assessments and manage the reporting process effectively.

Examples Highlighted

Example A: Company A monitors regulatory changes and uses insights from various functions to identify SRROs related to financial regulation and climate-related information.
Example B: Company B identifies climate-related transition risks through regulatory shifts, such as the CBAM, and realises the need for new data and skills.
Example C: An SMP identifies opportunities to offer climate-risk assessment services to SME clients.
Example D: Company D uses qualitative assessments to identify risks to its PPE due to climate change and integrates this into its business continuity planning.
Example E: Company E conducts due diligence to identify and manage the risk of modern slavery in its supply chain.
Example F: Company F uses a cross-functional team to assess the financial impact of climate-related scenarios.
Example G: Company G collaborates with multiple functions to improve water efficiency and manage its environmental impact.
Example H: Company H forms a cross-functional team to assess the financial and operational effects of climate-related risks.
Example I: Company B quantifies the impact of CBAM on its borrowers and adjusts its credit risk management strategy accordingly.
Example J: Company J uses a whole-life carbon assessment to understand the financial and environmental implications of its sustainability initiatives.

Conclusion

ACCA encourages organisations to be proactive in identifying and managing SRROs, using a structured, three-step approach. The process should be pragmatic, involving cross-functional collaboration and leveraging existing systems and expertise. As sustainability reporting evolves, organisations should continue to adapt and improve their practices, especially in areas beyond climate-related risks. The use of qualitative assessments, stakeholder engagement, and cross-functional teams can help organisations better understand and communicate their SRROs, ultimately leading to more informed decision-making and sustainable business practices.

Glossary

SRROs: Sustainability-related risks and opportunities
CBAM: Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism
WLCA: Whole-life carbon assessment
PPE: Property, plant, and equipment
SMP: Small and Medium Practice
IFRS SDS: IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards
ESRS: European Sustainability Reporting Standards

Acknowledgements

ACCA acknowledges the contributions of various stakeholders, including policymakers, standard setters, and experts in sustainability and risk management, in developing this guidance.

References

Machado et al. (2023), Sustainability Reporting – the Guide to Preparation
Saw and Ilangasekera (n.d.), Video resource on identifying SRROs
Saw and Cheng (n.d.), Video resource on using technology for sustainability data
IFRS Foundation, Guidance on identifying sustainability-related risks and opportunities and the disclosure of material information
EFRAG, Implementation guidance for double materiality assessment

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