As the world’s leading inspection, verification, testing, and certification company, SGS has launched three advanced services to help companies navigate through Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive. These services under the recently launched IMPACT NOW for Sustainability suite by SGS are CSRD Pre-Assurance, ESG Disclosures & Sustainability Report Assurance, and ESG KPI Verification & Assurance.
Designed to build on Environmental, Social, and Governance reporting, the suite enables organizations to navigate complex sustainability standards with precision and confidence. With over two decades in disclosure and sustainability report assurance experience, SGS developed these solutions to address the ever increasing demand for transparent, reliable and accurate ESG disclosures. The launches mark SGS’s commitment toward helping businesses deal with such sustainability challenges, comply with regulations, and contribute toward a more sustainable future.
The CSRD Pre-Assurance service is offered to prepare organizations to ensure compliance with the European Sustainability Reporting Standards. It is a confidential “dry run” offer that will allow the business to identify gaps in reporting, weaknesses, and process enhancement that could be strengthened before choosing to go for full public assurance. The service offered comprises gap analysis of processes and disclosures, detailed feedback on data alignment and ESG targets, and review of reporting structures. This pre-assurance service reduces the possibility of issuance of a qualified assurance opinion and provides a smooth assurance process by allowing a company to evaluate and perfect their sustainability reporting.
The second service is ESG Disclosures & Sustainability Report Assurance. This is the full service solution for companies that intend to disclose their ESG information to the public. This provides independent verification, validation, and assurance of the accuracy and integrity of ESG data.
This service helps organizations overcome legal risks, avoid a greenwashing accusation, and instill stakeholder trust by integrating ESG reporting with regulatory and assurance reporting standards. This also is helpful in developing internal reporting models that are robust and encourage innovation along with transparency in the reporting practice of ESG.
Its third offering is called ESG KPI Verification & Assurance, in which it verifies all key metrics and targets incorporated into ESG disclosures.
This service provides increased confidence in investors and stakeholders with the independent validation of ESG claims and assessment of the performance of suppliers. The service is very valuable to businesses that have to prepare for sustainable finance transactions, such as a reduction in the cost of borrowing or IPO preparation, because it allows due diligence, helps with risk assessment, and finds possible issues in compliance by building a credible ESG data base. Géraldine Picaud, chief executive officer of SGS, said that this latest IMPACT NOW suite has been designed to promote the sustainable business practice. “With the launch of our IMPACT NOW suite, we are providing innovative solutions to organizations for navigation through the complexity of CSRD compliance and improvement in reporting on ESG. These three services will help clear and build the confidence of businesses in their sustainability effort, stay in tune with regulatory expectations, and work for a more and more sustainable future.”. As the sustainability continues its growth curve as a critical business imperative, SGS is using over 30 years of leadership position in this arena to help organisations across the world. Experts in the field of SGS are committed toward making complexity in sustainability reporting simpler by converting advice into clear outcomes, transparent, and practical. The IMPACT NOW for Sustainability suite represents more than the portfolio of services, and it underlines the commitment of SGS towards the issues that bother humanity globally, such as climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution. Instead, SGS has a firm commitment to making this world nature-positive and pollutant-free by infusing every action and service made available with sustainability. The SGS business is helping the business community achieve the best results from compliance and regulatory standards into inspiring practices that have longer-term environmental and social value. As the world works toward a more sustainable future, SGS continues positioning itself as a trusted partner for enabling organizations to reach their sustainability objectives.