Why Sustainability Assurance Matters

In an era where environmental and social factors are increasingly shaping business decisions, there's a growing emphasis on transparent and accountable sustainability reporting. Enter sustainability assurance, a critical process that validates the integrity of an organization's sustainability reporting. But what is it, and why is it so crucial for the future of your business?

What is sustainability assurance?

Sustainability assurance is the independent examination and verification of an organization's sustainability-related disclosures. It aims to provide stakeholders with confidence in the reliability and accuracy of reported data. As scrutiny from investors, customers, and regulators is intensifying, sustainability assurance is no longer a "nice-to-have" but becoming a business necessity.

Sustainability assurance provides a level of confidence in the accuracy and completeness of sustainability reports. As stakeholders place increasing emphasis on sustainability performance, the importance of robust assurance systems is growing. Many regulations-including the Corporate Reporting Sustainability Directive (post Omnibus), California climate laws, and others-require limited assurance by a qualified third-party.

Why is sustainability assurance important?

The need for sustainability report assurance is driven by several key factors, each playing a unique part in why it is crucial today:

1. Enhancing trust and credibility
Investors and stakeholders are demanding greater transparency. Solid assurance builds trust and credibility in your sustainability reporting, a key component for maintaining strong relationships. Stakeholders want to know that the information is reliable and have confidence in the reported data.

2. Investor relations and liquidity
In a market where perception matters, assurance can directly impact your financial standing. In a Forrester Consulting study commissioned by Workiva, 76% of survey respondents recognize that effectively communicating their organization's sustainable value story is critical to investor relations and liquidity.

3. Integrated reporting and regulatory compliance
Navigating the evolving regulatory landscape requires organizations to maintain compliance amid growing complexity. In fact, 75% of leaders surveyed affirm the importance of assured integrated reporting, highlighting the move toward holistic reporting practices. And 82% of decision-makers surveyed believe that a single platform solution for assured integrated reporting would significantly improve their organization's ability to establish and maintain regulatory compliance, and 79% also see it increasing visibility across functions. Highlighting the need for a "one-stop shop" to streamline data, enabling better informed and quicker decisions based on aligned information.

4. Sustainable value creation
Ultimately, implementing strong sustainability assurance practices supports the overall goal of sustainable value creation. It demonstrates a commitment to transparency and accountability, fostering long-term stability and growth despite regulations. This also allows for better management decisions based on reliable information.

"It wasn't rooted in any regulation or obligation, but we wanted to have confidence in what we were saying. It wasn't about the data going out the door, but about the data sources we use every day to make decisions," said Kevin Berger, Director, Financial Operations & Audit at Delta Air Lines, when talking about Delta's reporting journey.

Challenges to achieving sustainability assurance

Despite its importance, many organizations often face significant challenges in achieving effective sustainability assurance. A major hurdle is the technology gap, with 84% of organizations surveyed identifying technology as the area needing the most improvement for assured integrated reporting. And alarmingly, only 9% of organizations surveyed expect their current tools to fully meet their needs in 18 months, indicating an urgent need for technology upgrades.

This highlights the necessity of incorporating auditors and diverse perspectives into the development of sustainability reporting processes to identify where errors could occur and what controls could prevent or detect those errors in a timely manner. This approach allows for the integration of practical controls into the process, ensuring sustainability metrics and reports are complete, accurate, timely, and efficient. These well-designed metrics and reports not only support management decisions but also withstand the scrutiny of third-party assurance.

How to obtain sustainability assurance

Overcoming these challenges and achieving effective sustainability assurance requires strategic solutions.

Leveraging integrated reporting platforms

At least 70% of leaders surveyed indicated that an assured integrated reporting platform would have a big impact on their ability to increase collaboration, provide assurance, and communicate value. This represents the future of reporting for organizations, offering a streamlined and efficient approach that keeps systems running smoothly and creates a durable, effective framework. Ultimately, it's about doing it right the first time with the right tools and processes.

Sustainable transformation

A strong integrated platform supports sustainable transformation by providing clear, auditable data, enabling organizations to make informed decisions and drive meaningful change.

"Our work has been about building the systems and controls so that it doesn't matter what's going to be required in a regulation-we are set up with the right underlying systems and skill sets to respond," said Kevin about Delta's reporting journey.

Building long-term value with sustainability assurance

The journey toward sustainable business practices demands reliable and credible reporting, with sustainability assurance serving as a key part in transparency and trustworthiness in your organization's reporting efforts. Despite this, 61% of organizations surveyed still rely heavily on manual tools and workflows to execute cross-functional reporting and audit/risk tasks.

Sustainability reporting introduces a unique challenge compared to other areas subjected to third-party assurance, such as the financial reporting requirements. Unlike financial data, which is typically structured and consolidated within a few systems, sustainability data often originates from diverse sources. This data is frequently unstructured and may not be derived from a system at all, adding complexity to the reporting process.

Recognizing this difference, organizations can anticipate that sustainability reporting often demands an even greater effort than the internal controls over financial reporting, as covered by Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) for U.S. public companies. Therefore, implementing a system like the Workiva platform is vital for organizations to establish effectively controlled sustainability processes. Finance and internal control teams must collaborate closely with sustainability and HR teams, ensuring a cohesive and efficient approach to sustainability assurance.

Embracing sustainability assurance goes beyond compliance-it's a strategic move that drives long-term value creation and fosters a sustainable future. Establishing well-defined processes that incorporate diverse perspectives and are supported by robust systems is crucial. This approach provides the delivery of accurate and reliable sustainability metrics, facilitates the achievement and measurement of sustainability goals, meets reporting requirements, and enables organizations to withstand the rigors of third-party sustainability assurance.

Wondering how assured integrated reporting can elevate your sustainability game? Discover how to enhance your assurance process, build trust, and drive long-term success in 2025. Read the full study here!

Accelerate Sustainable Value Creation with Assured Integrated Reporting

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