The NGX Regulation Limited (NGX RegCo), has underscored the need for corporate bodies to adopt sound procedures in reporting on their environmental and social impact.
The Chief Executive Officer NCX RegCo, Tinuade Awe noted this during a webinar with the theme: “Unlocking ESG for Boards from Strategy to Disclosure”, hosted by Corporate Secretaries International Association (CSIA) to explore how businesses and organisations can carry a full 360 approach to Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) integration into business strategies, complying with regulations and standards.
Speaking on the importance of measuring and reporting sustainability performance for companies, Awe highlighted the importance of capital allocation. In her words: “Our world today is facing major sustainability challenges including inequality, overpopulation, climate change, and several environmental risks.
“By recognizing that capital allocation makes a real impact on the environment and society at large, investors can reap sustainable long-term investment decisions through investments in ESG-themed investments. Furthermore, adopting an ESG-lens in our approach to investment is critical for investors to identify businesses that implement a forward-looking approach to managing long-term risks as and leveraging opportunities that ensure long-term ensure economic, environmental, and social responsibility.”
She encouraged companies to adopt best practices in their disclosure on ESG issues by ensuring that their sustainability reports capture relevant sustainability disclosures that are relevant to their stakeholders. In recommending critical disclosures that should be included in a sustainability report, she said, “historically, sustainability reports cover the address a company’s approach to managing the Triple Bottom Line (TBL) of people, profit and planet.
“However, disclosures in sustainability reports have evolved over the years to address the needs of a wide array of stakeholders. In publishing their sustainability reports, companies should consider a number of relevant disclosures including materiality, sustainability risks, and opportunities as well as a detailed explanation of how companies are addressing the risks and levering the opportunities. In addition, a sustainability report should include disclosures on how sustainability is governed by the Board, Executive Management, and designated officers responsible for managing the organisation’s impact footprint”.
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