Validation of sustainability budgets

Validation of Sustainability Budgets (or sustainability reports) consists of verifying that the data and information reported on the document prepared by the Organization correspond to nationally or internationally defined criteria. Sustainability reporting is the practice of measuring, disclosing and reporting to internal and external stakeholders on organizational performance toward the goal of sustainable development.

Involves reporting on how an organization considers sustainability issues during the execution of its operations and its environmental, social and economic impacts. A sustainability report also presents the organization’s values and governance model and demonstrates the link between its strategy and its commitment to a sustainable global economy (European Court of Auditors).

SUSTAINABILITY REPORT

The Sustainability Report is not just a final document showing the results achieved by the company during a given fiscal year. It is also a tool that correlates financial and economic performance with stated social and environmental goals. Its purpose is to help measure the impact on the environment of the company’s activities, as well as to report on the results achieved. The directive number 95 of 2014 (2014/95/EU), transposed at the end of 2016 by the European Parliament and Council, made this the mandatory budget.

Specifically, companies listed in Legislative Decree 39/2010 that, due to their visibility and economic importance, are subject to specific forms of statutory audit, e.g., publicly traded companies, banks, insurance companies, with more than 500 employees and reporting a balance sheet of more than 20 million euros or revenues of at least 40 million euros, are required to prepare the non-financial statement, which is subject to audit by a person authorized to perform statutory audit of financial statements. In addition, the Decree, provides that even enterprises that are not subject to the obligation such as SMEs can submit such a declaration in a voluntary and simplified form: the declarations of enterprises with fewer than 250 employees, unlike the others, can be considered in compliance with the regulations without being subject to the provisions on controls.

ASACERT, as an accredited body, through its new reporting process validation service, is able to support an organization in identifying its significant impacts on the economy, environment and society, according to globally recognized standards.

BENEFITS

• Transparency and correctness of published data;
• Third-party validation of its sustainability report, based on shared and defined global standards;
• Improvement of corporate reputation;
• Facilitated access to mortgages and financing for future investments;
• Increased effectiveness and reliability of reporting to all stakeholders;
• Increased transparency and visibility of the activity carried out.