ICAS ICAS logo

Quicklinks

  1. About Us

    Find out about who we are and what we do here at ICAS.

  2. Find a CA

    Search our directory of individual CAs and Member organisations by name, location and professional criteria.

  3. CA Magazine

    View the latest issues of the dedicated magazine for ICAS Chartered Accountants.

  4. Contact Us

    Get in touch with ICAS by phone, email or post, with dedicated contacts for Members, Students and firms.

Login
  • Annual renewal
  • About us
  • Contact us
  • Find a CA
  1. About us
    1. Governance
  2. Members
    1. Become a member
    2. Newly qualified
    3. Manage my membership
    4. Benefits of membership
    5. Careers support
    6. Mentoring
    7. CA Wellbeing
    8. More for Members
    9. Area networks
    10. International communities
    11. Get involved
    12. Top Young CAs
    13. Career breaks
    14. ICAS podcast
    15. Newly admitted members 2022
    16. Newly admitted members 2023
  3. CA Students
    1. Student information
    2. Student resources
    3. Learning requirements
    4. Learning updates
    5. Learning blog
    6. Totum Pro | Student discount card
    7. CA Student wellbeing
  4. Become a CA
    1. How to become a CA
    2. Routes to becoming a CA
    3. CA Stories
    4. Find a training agreement
    5. Why become a CA
    6. Qualification information
    7. University exemptions
  5. Employers
    1. Become an Authorised Training Office
    2. Resources for Authorised Training Offices
    3. Professional entry
    4. Apprenticeships
  6. Find a CA
  7. ICAS events
    1. CA Summit
  8. CA magazine
  9. Insight
    1. Finance + Trust
    2. Finance + Technology
    3. Finance + EDI
    4. Finance + Mental Fitness
    5. Finance + Leadership
    6. Finance + Sustainability
  10. Professional resources
    1. Anti-money laundering
    2. Audit and assurance
    3. Brexit
    4. Business and governance
    5. Charities
    6. Coronavirus
    7. Corporate and financial reporting
    8. Cyber security
    9. Ethics
    10. Insolvency
    11. ICAS Research
    12. Pensions
    13. Practice
    14. Public sector
    15. Sustainability
    16. Tax
  11. CPD - professional development
    1. CPD courses and qualifications
    2. CPD news and updates
    3. CPD support and advice
  12. Regulation
    1. Complaints and sanctions
    2. Regulatory authorisations
    3. Guidance and help sheets
    4. Regulatory monitoring
  13. CA jobs
    1. CA jobs partner: Rutherford Cross
    2. Resources for your job search
    3. Advertise with CA jobs
    4. Hays | A Trusted ICAS CA Jobs Partner
    5. Azets | What's your ambition?
  14. Work at ICAS
    1. Business centres
    2. Meet our team
    3. Benefits
    4. Vacancies
    5. Imagine your career at ICAS
  15. Contact us
    1. Technical and regulation queries
    2. ICAS logo request

Five steps to aligning the SDGs with the IR Framework

  • LinkedIn (opens new window)
  • Twitter (opens new window)
By Carol A Adams, CA

24 August 2017

Main points

  • The <IR> Framework provides an opportunity for organisations seeking to respond to the SDGs to get Board level attention for integrating them into strategy and reporting.
  • Five steps for embedding the SDGs in alignment with the valuation creation process of the <IR> Framework are outlined.
  • The main focus of the SDG Compass is on developing a set of common indicators and prioritised disclosures and documenting leadership and best practice.

The <IR> Framework provides an opportunity for organisations seeking to respond to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to get Board level attention for integrating them into strategy and reporting.  

Five steps for embedding the SDGs in alignment with the valuation creation process of the <IR> Framework are outlined below. The steps facilitate identification of risks to and opportunities for value creation and their contribution to the SDGs.

Step 1: Understanding the external environment

The sustainable development issues that the SDGs address impact on the organisation’s ability to create value for itself and its stakeholders.

The <IR> Framework requires consideration of externalities which may increase or decrease value created either directly or through the quality of relationships with stakeholders.

Therefore, consideration of the SDGs, and the sustainable development issues that they address, should be incorporated into the wider consideration of the external environment.

Step 2: Identify material issues that influence value creation

The materiality process for integrated reporting involves identifying, evaluating and prioritising matters based on their ability to affect value creation.

Value is created for the organisation and for others through increases, decreases and transformation of the capitals.

Therefore, when planning their approach to the SDGs, organisations should identify, evaluate and prioritise sustainable development issues which maximise outcomes for the six capitals and hence their contribution to the SDG targets.

Step 3: Developing strategy

The organisation’s strategy identifies how it intends to mitigate or manage risks and maximize opportunities.

Organisations should set out their strategic objectives and strategies to achieving material SDGs.  This should incorporate resource allocation plans and specific, quantified short, medium and long term targets.

The organization’s strategy should relate to its ability to create value in the short, medium and long term and to its use of and effects on the capitals.  

An organisation’s ability to create value is influenced by the external environment (see Step 1).

Step 4: Integrated thinking and connectivity

The <IR> Framework calls on organisations to link their strategy to changes in the external environment including evolving societal expectations and natural resource limitations.  

Further, it emphasises the importance of responding to the legitimate needs and interests of stakeholders because value is created through its relationships with others.  

Those charged with governance are required to acknowledge their involvement and responsibility for this process.  Those charged with an organisation’s governance should satisfy themselves that:

  • the processes of engaging with stakeholders will: identify material sustainable development issues; that these are incorporated into strategy; and, that appropriate goals and targets have been developed.
  • that the organisation develops and nurtures relationships with and between stakeholders in order to enhance collective well-being;
  • that the organisation’s business model should incorporate all material sustainable development issues impacting on inputs and outputs in terms of the six capitals;
  • that the organisation’s strategy reflects past performance with respect to the SDGs.

Connectivity involves (amongst other things) “linking the organization’s strategy and business model with changes in its external environment, such as increases or decreases in the pace of technological change, evolving societal expectations, and resource shortages as planetary limits are approached” (para 3.8 of the <IR> Framework).

Step 5: Integrated reporting

Organisations should report on key sustainable development issues which impact on stakeholders and the organisation to influence value creation in the short, medium and long term.  

Organisations should report their contribution to SDG targets alongside their outcomes with respect to the six capitals.

Aligning with the SDG Compass

The main focus of the SDG Compass developed by the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) and World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) in 2015 (and the ongoing partnership between the GRI and the UN GC) is on developing a set of common indicators and prioritised disclosures and documenting leadership and best practice. The outcome will be the integration of the SDGs into the UN GC Principles and GRI Standards.

Organisations who follow these five steps can use the indicators to report on their material SDG outcomes.  

Find out more about how these steps link with the <IR> Framework and provide feedback.

Carol Adams is authoring a report for the IIRC and ICAS in collaboration with the Green Economy Coalition on Integrated Reporting and the SDGs.

Eight ways accountants can contribute to sustainability

By Anne Adrain

8 August 2015

2-23-marsh 2-23-marsh
ICAS logo

Footer links

  • Contact us
  • Terms and conditions
  • Modern slavery statement
  • Privacy notice
  • CA magazine

Connect with ICAS

  • Facebook (opens new window) Facebook Icon
  • Twitter (opens new window) Twitter Icon
  • LinkedIn (opens new window) LinkedIn Icon
  • Instagram (opens new window) Instagram Icon

ICAS is a member of the following bodies

  • Consultative Committee of Accountancy Bodies (opens new window) Consultative Committee of Accountancy Bodies logo
  • Chartered Accountants Worldwide (opens new window) Chartered Accountants Worldwide logo
  • Global Accounting Alliance (opens new window) Global Accounting Alliance
  • International Federation of Accountants (opens new window) IFAC
  • Access Accountancy (opens new window) Access Acountancy

Charities

  • ICAS Foundation (opens new window) ICAS Foundation
  • SCABA (opens new window) scaba

Accreditations

  • ISO 9001 - RGB (opens new window)
© ICAS 2022

The mark and designation “CA” is a registered trade mark of The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS), and is available for use in the UK and EU only to members of ICAS. If you are not a member of ICAS, you should not use the “CA” mark and designation in the UK or EU in relation to accountancy, tax or insolvency services. The mark and designation “Chartered Accountant” is a registered trade mark of ICAS, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales and Chartered Accountants Ireland. If you are not a member of one of these organisations, you should not use the “Chartered Accountant” mark and designation in the UK or EU in relation to these services. Further restrictions on the use of these marks also apply where you are a member.

ICAS logo

Our cookie policy

ICAS.com uses cookies which are essential for our website to work. We would also like to use analytical cookies to help us improve our website and your user experience. Any data collected is anonymised. Please have a look at the further information in our cookie policy and confirm if you are happy for us to use analytical cookies: