JSE releases report aimed at guiding listed companies on sustainability and climate change disclosure

In response to the rapidly evolving landscape of sustainability standards and frameworks, the JSE Sustainability and Climate Disclosure Guidance provides companies with a sustainability guideline on how to minimise their environmental impact, a statement from the JSE said on Thursday.  

The disclosure is aimed at all environmental practices, with a specific focus on ways of mitigating climate change, and will be open for public comment between 9 December 2021 and 28 February 2022.

According to the statement, “the JSE recognises the need to create an enabling environment for better disclosure practices to thrive. The Sustainability and Climate Disclosure Guidance is intended to be helpful to companies to align with recent changes in global standards and international best practice regardless of their experience in ESG [environmental, social and corporate governance] reporting”.

The JSE disclosure considers several ESG metrics, highlighting those that are well established, universal, industry agnostic, and which provide important sustainable value creation. 

“[These metrics] include the GRI Sustainability Reporting Standards, the Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosures recommendations, the IFRS’s, ISSB’s prototypes and the IIRC’s International Framework – as well as an extensive range of other frameworks and standards, and the ESG guidance of various peer exchanges.” 

The statement stressed that the disclosure would not replace the global initiatives, but rather assist companies in navigating environmentally sustainable practices, without it being too arduous.

“It is our hope that this set of guidance documents will be a valuable resource and tool to all of our listed companies, regardless of size or sector,” the statement read.

The final Sustainability and Climate Disclosure Guidance will be published in 2022. DM/BM

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