Sustainability Assurance: ISSA 5000
The International Standard on Sustainability Assurance 5000: General Requirements for Sustainability Assurance Engagements (ISSA 5000) provides guidance on how professionals shall approach such engagements. The International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) issued the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS S1/S2) in 2023.
IFRS 1: General Requirements for Disclosure of Sustainability-related Financial Information.
Organizations are expected to disclose how Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) issues impact them over the short, medium and long term. On the other hand
IFRS S2: Climate-related Disclosures focusing on greenhouse gas emissions.
When making disclosures under IFRS S1/S2, organizations are expected to follow a uniform Four-Pillar structure that covers Governance, Strategy, Risk Management and Performance Metrics.
ISSA 5000 comes in to impart trust and confidence in such disclosures. The major concerns regarding sustainability and climate disclosures have include greenwashing whereby organizations make false or misleading claims about their environmental achievements, thus creating a credibility gap. Some of these greenwashing scandals have been unearthed and ended up in Court and the culprits have paid very hefty fines and penalties.
Notable companies that have been fined include Volkswagen USD35billion for installing software that cheated emission tests, DWS Group USD25million for overstating ESG investments, Toyota USD180million for concealing emission-related reports, Eni USD5million for claiming that its diesel was “green” fuel, Keurig USD12million for claiming its coffee plastic pods were fully recyclable. TotalEnergies was ordered to pull down adverts in many countries where it claimed its fuel had lower CO2 emissions, yet the multinational continues with fossil explorations on African continent.
Other concerns have been the inconsistent sustainability reporting and lack of comparability between organizations in similar sector or industry. The Standard is effective for periods beginning on or after 15 December 2026. The Standard is profession-agnostic meaning that both professional accountants and non-accountant experts can provide sustainability assurance, so long as they are licensed in their respective jurisdictions.
The Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Uganda (ICPAU) oversees the adoption and implementation of global reporting and assurance standards in Uganda. Therefore, professional accountants and non-accountant experts who desire to provide sustainability assurance in Uganda shall be required to apply for licensing. The roadmap was approved and ICPAU will begin licensing the professional accountants and non-accountant sustainability assurance experts in Uganda.
