Our friend Marie-Josée Privyk always gives down-to-earth advice and commentary. Last week, she issued a caution to ESG professionals about the amount and types of ESG information available these days:
“The frenetic pace at which standards and regulations are being developed in the European Union is hard enough to keep up with, but this challenge is perhaps unwittingly compounded by the extreme transparency of the process, by which iterations of working drafts are made publicly available, and inevitably widely disseminated. These are easy to miss, and even harder to find sometimes. The above items (voluntary standards for small- and medium-sized enterprises, delays on sector standards and standards for non-EU companies, draft mapping of ESRS and TNFD) are good examples. Therefore, I encourage people to read beyond the headlines to distinguish ‘new’ news from ‘old’ news, and to use interim draft documents with caution until the final versions are officially launched.
Adding to the confusion is also the [social] media frenzy around the release of new resources that may in fact be of limited use. A case in point is the Interoperability considerations for GHG emissions when applying GRI standards and ISSB standards. No doubt a good resource to literally see and better understand the extent of the alignment and complementarity of the two sets of standards. Well written and well laid out. But when it comes to producing disclosures, companies applying one or the other will need to dive into the actual standards themselves. For those ambitious enough to attempt to apply both standards, a decision will need to be made about which standard takes precedence in instances where they require different disclosures for the same item, with the implications this may have on application levels.”
To quote Jeremy Clarkson – “wise words.” M-J’s admonition goes even farther: I’ll soon write on current skepticism about academic research on ESG value and benefits – including some of the most widely-cited studies on ESG/sustainability. Of course, our raison d’être here at PracticalESG.com is to filter the tsunami of topical publications, research, reports, etc and bring only practical and relevant information to you – so you don’t have to waste time wading through hype, marketing pieces, theory and jargon-filled gobbledygook. If you aren’t a member, sign up now and take advantage of our no-risk “100-Day Promise” – during the first 100 days as an activated member, you may cancel for any reason and receive a full refund.
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