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What Should Your Sustainability Report Contain?

As the era of mandatory climate reporting dawns, delivering a high-quality sustainability report is no longer optional—it's a compliance imperative. Is your business ready to meet ASIC's latest regulatory requirements?

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Are you preparing for the new mandatory climate reporting requirements? Under the Corporations Act 2001, the Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC) has outlined exactly what your sustainability report must include. Here is a breakdown of the essentials to keep your business compliant:


1. The 3 Core Components of a Sustainability Report:


  • Climate Statements: The core of your report, which must align with the Corporations Act and AASB S2 (Climate-related disclosures) standards.

  • Notes to the Climate Statements: While technically part of the report, ASIC anticipates that most entities will not actually need to include these notes in practice.

  • Directors' Declaration: A formal statement by the directors sharing their opinion on whether the report complies with the Corporations Act and AASB S2.


2. What Must Your Climate Statements Disclose? 


To meet the legal and AASB S2 requirements, your statements must cover:

  • Material Financial Risks & Opportunities: How climate factors financially impact your entity.

  • Metrics & Targets: Key figures, including mandatory greenhouse gas emissions reporting across  


  • Scope 1: Direct greenhouse gas emissions that occur from sources that are owned or controlled by an entity. 

  • Scope 2: Indirect greenhouse gas emissions from the generation of purchased or acquired electricity, steam, heating or cooling consumed by an entity.  

  • Scope 3: Indirect greenhouse gas emissions (not included in Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions) that occur in the value chain of an entity, including both upstream and downstream emissions, and being categorised into 15 categories—as described in the Greenhouse Gas Protocol Corporate Value Chain (Scope 3) Accounting and Reporting Standard (2011) (such as: purchased goods and services, capital goods, fuel- and energy-related activities not included in above Scope 1 or Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions; upstream transportation and distribution; waste generated in operations, …) 


  • Governance, Strategy & Risk Management: The management strategies your organization uses to address these specific climate-related risks and targets.


3. What if your entity has NO material climate risks? 


You are still required to report. Your report must include a specific statement confirming there are no material financial risks or opportunities relating to climate, alongside a clear explanation of how you determined this conclusion.



Source of information: Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC)


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