Leverage Takes You Through AA1000 ESG Report Assurance

05 Dec, 2022,murphy
 

ESG Report Assurance

With the rapid increase in the number of companies disclosing ESG reports, stakeholders, especially investment institutions, are increasingly concerned about the quality of ESG reports and the credibility of the information disclosed. Regulatory agencies such as the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, the SEC, and the European Union make requirements or suggestions for listed companies on the quality of sustainable information disclosure. It is recommended that companies ensure the reliability of ESG information through third-party verification, and ESG ratings such as MSCI, CDP, and DJSI are recommended. The index will use third-party verification as a scoring criterion. Conducting ESG reporting validation increases the credibility and transparency of information and data reporting.

 
 
 

Assurance refers to the fact that the subject of the assurance process puts forward a conclusion on the subject of the audit, in order to enhance the trust of the expected users other than the responsible party in the information of the subject to be audited. The basis of the assurance business is professionalism and independence. Audit subject to perform.

 
 
 

What international standards are ESG reports based on?

At present, the authoritative standards and guidelines are: AA1000 prepared by ISEA (Association for Social and Ethical Responsibility), and ISAE3000 prepared by IAASB (International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board). Among them, AA1000 is the first authoritative verification standard with ESG information disclosure as the main body, and has a wide range of applications. Since the promulgation of this standard, the number of international companies that conduct verification and issue ESG verification reports according to this standard has gradually increased.

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Why use the AA1000 Assurance Standard?

The AA1000 Assurance Standard was compiled by the Institute for Social and Ethical Accountability (ISEA) in 2003. It mainly provides standards for stakeholder activities, public disclosure and assurance. It is closely related to the company's ESG report and is the first in the world. Assurance standards for ESG reporting. Its main purpose is to improve organizational performance in sustainability and includes an innovative set of standards, guidelines and user notes.

The AA1000 Assurance Standard is designed to improve the credibility of ESG reporting by using a set of principles and criteria to evaluate the quality of a reporting entity’s ESG reporting and the reporting entity’s systems, processes and capabilities to support its ESG performance. The evaluation results are communicated to users of the information to confirm the credibility of the ESG report.

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Basic Principles of AA1000 Assurance Standards
01
Materiality Principle

Assurance providers are required to state whether the reporting entity has included in its ESG reporting information about the reporting entity’s sustainability situation that is required by its stakeholders to make judgments, decisions and actions

 
 
02
Integrity Principle

Assurance providers are required to assess the extent to which reporting entities identify and understand important aspects of their sustainability performance

 
 
03
Responsiveness Principle

Assurance providers are required to evaluate whether the reporting entity has responded to its stakeholder issues, policies and relevant standards and has adequately articulated these responses in the ESG report

 
 

 

What are the benefits for companies to carry out ESG report verification?

  • Improving the level of information disclosure can gain consumer recognition, create product competitive advantages, improve corporate reputation, and increase corporate value

  • Voluntary information disclosure can effectively reduce the degree of information asymmetry between enterprise managers and external investors, thereby reducing the cost of capital of enterprises, which is conducive to raising financing prices and obtaining refinancing opportunities, so that enterprises can achieve more in the capital market. More financing, and ultimately enhance the core competitiveness of enterprises

  • Companies voluntarily conducting ESG report verification can expand their research on their own non-financial information disclosure, facilitate taking effective measures to improve the level of ESG fulfillment, thereby reducing the gap between the social responsibility that the enterprise should fulfill and the expectations of stakeholders to fulfill the social responsibility. Better reflect stakeholder needs to maintain sustainable development

What do companies need to prepare for ESG report verification? how much is the cost?

The evaluation methods include but are not limited to: interviews with management, interviews with employees, communication with stakeholders, document tracing, project inspection, etc. The purpose is to understand that the company's sustainable development work is consistent with the report content, and to understand the data collection process, etc. Ensure the credibility of the report.

 

   Businesses need：

  • Clarify the purpose and scope of the audit

  • Understand what stakeholders expect from the business

  • Communicate with the data providing department to clarify the verification purpose and related work

  • Provide data collection forms and reports

  • Arrange interviews with management, employees and stakeholders 

  • Communicate with the data providing department to clarify the verification purpose and related work

  • Assist in preparing relevant documents for verification Arrange project inspections

   

   Fee for report:

According to the operating income of each enterprise, royalties ranging from 250 to 650 pounds need to be paid to the platform, and the service fee of the verification agency must also be paid. For details, please consult the verification agency.

 
 
 
 

Shanghai Leverage Supply Chain Management Co., Ltd. Leverage has been approved as an AA1000 Sustainable Development (ESG) certification body. Leverage will collaborate with AccountAbility to provide professional assurance services on sustainability information and corporate responsibility disclosure, providing clients with confidence in addressing sustainability challenges and investor scrutiny.

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Leverage is a clean, transparent and responsible third-party supply chain management service company. It is also a certification body of the National Certification and Accreditation Administration (CNCA-R-2020-707), China National Accreditation Service for Conformity Assessment (CNAS IB0605), LCA Member units of the Full Life Cycle Green Management Professional Committee, as well as member units of many international organizations such as UNGC, UNEP, AWS, SAI, etc. As an AA1000-accredited assurance agency, Leverage will use the expertise of its own team to provide professional assurance services for corporate sustainability reports.

ISO Management System Certification | Service Certification | Product Certification | Product Inspection and Testing Service | Enterprise ESG Strategy Consulting | ESG Report Preparation | OCI Marine Plastic Recycling Certification | Carbon Verificaion for Enterprises | Carbon Footprint Verificaion for Product | Carbon Neutrality Project Customization

If you want to know more information, please contact us: 

■ Shanghai : 
Leverage Limited (Shanghai) Co., Ltd.
Address: Room 402, No 2. Building, No .1328, Hengnan Rd, Shanghai, China
Phone: + 86 21 64067720
Email: cs@leveragelimited.com

■ Hongkong : 
Leverage Global Limited
Address: Room 1318-19, Hollywood Plaza, 610 Nathan Road, Mongkok, Kowloon, Hong Kong
Phone: + 852 9045 0526
Email: info@leveragelimited.com