1. Geopolitical influence on sustainability reporting
Panelists highlighted how global political developments are reshaping sustainability priorities. Jen Sisson, CEO of ICGN (UK), emphasized the importance of aligning reporting frameworks across jurisdictions: “In an increasingly interconnected world, geopolitical shifts are driving demand for consistent, high-quality sustainability disclosures that investors can rely on globally. These are critical business issues, and we need to keep companies thinking about that, reporting on what is important, being transparent and making sure to keep going in the journey on assurance because we’ve got to have trust in this information.�
Tae-Young Paik, ISSB Member � IFRS Foundation (Korea), underscored the need for a global baseline: “We are in a new era for sustainability reporting. The establishment of ISSB standards has created a foundation for consistent and comparable reporting, but geopolitical factors continue to influence how these standards are applied across regions. Moving from voluntary to mandatory disclosures, will allow for more transparency as without clear assurance mechanisms we cannot have clear assurance information.�
2. Materiality and prioritizing impact
The discussion around materiality sparked thought-provoking insights.
Eric Nietsch, Head of Sustainable Investing at Manulife (Asia), spoke to the global divergence on materiality frameworks: “The geopolitical interpretation of materiality can be quite different. The US has a not widely understood legal precedence that requires a narrow interpretation on financial materiality, which is pretty different than the Europe. This, plus dynamic materiality adds another layer of complexity to this issue. This also means that the burden of proof is rising and as a result the quality of the information that investors needs is even more important.�
Jen Sisson highlighted that investor expectations are evolving: “The importance of materiality is absolutely key to ICGN’s investor members around the world. Regardless of what is happening geopolitically, our perspective is that what is important is the materiality of these issues. Investors are not opposed to broader disclosure frameworks like CSRD, but the global focus remains on building a consistent baseline that enables meaningful comparisons.�
3. Leveraging technology for enhanced reporting
The role of technology and AI in transforming sustainability reporting was a focal point. Tetsuya Satofuka, Partner at ÀÖÓ㣨Leyu£©ÌåÓý¹ÙÍø AZSA, Japan described the challenges Japanese companies face with IT integration: “Japanese companies are still navigating the adoption of advanced systems to support sustainability reporting. As we’ve seen in the EU, where CSRD reports have been produced in record time, technology will play a crucial role in enabling timely and reliable disclosures.â€� Eric Nietsch added that innovations such as alternative data sources and AI-driven analytics are rapidly changing the reporting landscape: “We are moving into a world where company reported data is going to be increasingly complimented by alternative data sources and information â€� such as satellite and IoT data â€� and then increasingly picked up by AI enabled analysis enabling more responsive reporting practices.â€�
