I participated in a webinar on sustainable development management and reporting. It was organized by the Ministry of Finance, the National Statistics Office, the World Bank, GIZ, the ToS association, and the National Statistics Office.
ISO & GSG provided a lot of useful information. To summarize:
– Up until now, many documents explaining the methodology for sustainable development reporting have been published, but international organizations are now focusing more on the need for organizations to focus on internal sustainable management rather than just preparing reports for external parties. This is also crucial for an organization to be able to operate sustainably.
- ISO standards are part of a management system that performs audits based on non-financial indicators. Management system standards create structures that help manage and measure processes and operations. These standards are closely aligned with business models and strategic planning functions through the systematic application of the PDCA (Plan-Do-Check-Act) principle. They branch out from large foundational standards like ISO 14001 and ISO 31000. Audits under the ISO certification system are conducted by accredited certification bodies, making them widely accepted. This is called a conformity assessment, which evaluates whether the system is working, but does not check every data point; it is based on trust from the clients. This includes audits related to SDG Impact (Sustainable Development Goals), Social Value, and audits by organizations like IFC, OECD, and others.
- The audits based on the results and impacts reported by the organization form a system. As a result of an operational management system, “improved performance” is generated, and the impacts are measured to create a sustainability report. There are many standards to measure and report on performance or impact, such as IFRS, IR, SASB, and TCF. These audits are a bit different from financial audits, as they verify the accuracy of the information presented in reports. Since they are based on financial reports, these audits are conducted in a long-term, detailed, and thoroughly verified manner. This is known as assurance & verification audits. There are also instances where GRI standards enable audits focused on non-financial performance indicators.
Both types of audits and their implementation processes can yield results when performed together. Without a solid management system in place, measuring and reporting on impacts may be inadequate. A strong foundation for the system creates the capacity for continuous improvement in the future.
ISO, in collaboration with UNDP, has released and continues to release guidelines and documents on sustainable management. For example, the ISO/UNDP PAS 53002 standard introduces guidance on contributing to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Working systematically under this standard can help achieve the goals and ensure no key elements are neglected.
Conclusion: By successfully establishing a sustainable management system, a sustainable development report should be prepared. Skipping the processes of planning, implementation, measurement, improvement, and verification to directly produce a report can lead to unreliable and unverified information. However, once the system is properly established, consistently preparing reports will make sustainable management deliver long-term benefits.
Furthermore, there was an expression of interest in hearing Mongolia’s voice in this process. “Mongolian professionals, NSO members, and organizations can write and submit their comments in Mongolian; don’t hold back just because you don’t speak English!” 🥰
