Sustainability Reporting

There has been an increasing harmonisation of sustainability reporting globally as well as in Malaysia, with the increasing regulatory requirements to provide sustainability-related financial information to the stakeholders.

Customers, regulators, and investors alike are viewing sustainability reporting as an important indicator of a company’s overall performance.

Why sustainability reporting matters?

Increased value

High quality ESG reporting enhances value

On top of risks and opportunities

Sustainability reporting can provide a competitive advantage to companies

Build trust

Clear, meaningful reporting improves confidence towards an entity

Better transparency

Stakeholders demand information that is meaningful to them

How can we help?

At PwC, we strive to empower organisations to embrace transparency and accountability in today’s dynamic reporting landscape through the following services:

Reporting strategy/roadmap

Disclosure advisory

Narrative development

Materiality assessment

Data management

Advancing technology enablement with security in mind

Regulations driving global sustainability reporting

The International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB)
The European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG)
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)
United States Securities and Exchange Commission (US SEC)

The International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB)

ISSB published its first two IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards on 26 June 2023 that aims to be the global baseline standards for sustainability reporting. The standards prescribes how an entity prepares and reports its sustainability-related financial disclosures, including general requirements for the content and presentation so that the information disclosed is useful to users in their decision-making making process. This also include issuance of its first thematic standards, IFRS S2 “Climate-related Disclosures”.

The European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG)

The European Commission, on 31 July 2023 adopted the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) with staggered effective reporting date, from financial year 2024 for:

large listed companies, large banks and large insurance undertakings – all if they have more than 500 employees
large non-EU listed companies with more than 500 employees

United States Securities and Exchange Commission (US SEC)

Proposed rule changes to include climate-related disclosures in registration statements and periodic reports, disclosure of a registrant’s greenhouse gas emissions including information about climate-related risks and certain climate-related financial statement metrics in a note to their audited financial statements.

Regulations driving sustainability reporting in Malaysia

Bursa Malaysia
Securities Commission Malaysia (SC)
Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM)
Joint Committee on Climate Change (JC3)

Bursa Malaysia

Issued the 3rd edition of its Sustainability Guide to provide specific guidance on the information, including common material sustainability matters, TCFD-aligned disclosures, quantitative information requirements, and assurance statement that should be disclosed when producing a Sustainability Statement in the Annual Report.

Joint Committee on Climate Change (JC3)

A platform established to pursue collaborative actions for building climate resilience within the Malaysian financial sector. The initiatives and priorities lie within the areas of Risk Management; Governance and Disclosure; Product and Innovation; Engagement and Capacity Building; and Bridging Data Gaps.

Explore related case studies

Sustainability Reporting Advisory

Major Healthcare Services Provider

Challenge:

The client was seeking to enhance their sustainability disclosure by aligning with global sustainability reporting standards such as the global reporting initiative (GRI) Standards, the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) recommendations, and Bursa Malaysia’s enhanced reporting requirements. The client was also seeking to establish their Scope 1, 2 and 3 greenhouse gas (GHG) baseline emissions.

Solution:

PwC performed a gap assessment on the client’s sustainability practices and disclosures against GRI Standards, the TCFD and Bursa Sustainability Reporting Guide (3rd edition) through desktop review of their recent sustainability disclosure
Conducted internal stakeholder engagements through departmental interviews with key data providers for the sustainability report to gain an understanding of the sustainability initiatives and challenges for the purpose of enhancing their disclosure on sustainability performance
Conducted departmental interviews to determine the scope, boundary and data availability to calculate Scope 1, 2 and 3 GHG baseline emissions
Supported the client in their data collection and calculation of their GHG baseline emissions which included conducting a capacity building workshop to upskill the client to identify emissions sources, accurately calculate GHG emissions, and explore strategic mitigation opportunities moving forward.

Results:

Developed a gap and recommendations report to support the client in developing their sustainability report across three reporting years which included illustrative guidance and GHG baseline inventory for the client to continuously monitor and report on their Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions

Regional Telecommunications Operator

Challenge:

PwC developed a reporting roadmap by reviewing the client's Corporate Responsibility (CR) activities and governance

Solution:

Conducted a performance benchmarking against local and international companies to identify current reporting gaps, using GRI as the reporting framework for comparison
Engaged with key stakeholders via a survey and provided training to assess current levels of understanding and raise awareness
Communicated with the Board and senior leadership team to input their views into the final recommendations

Results:

Developed comprehensive performance reports highlighting reporting gaps against GRI and enhanced stakeholder awareness through surveys and training sessions

Global plantations company

Challenge:

Provide an overview on the alignment of the client's report against Bursa's Listing Requirement on Sustainability

Solution:

Provided guidance on the client's Integrated Report <IR> so that the content was in accordance to the International Integrated Reporting Council
Proposed value drivers to the identified material matters through peer analysis and industry research literature
Conducted a prioritisation exercise with senior management on the material matters

Results:

Aligned the client's Integrated Report with the International Integrated Reporting Council guidelines

One of the region’s food & beverage giants

Challenge:

Apply the GRI framework to assist the client in meeting SGX and Bursa Malaysia's Sustainability Reporting requirements

Solution:

Applied the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) framework to help the company comply beyond SGX and Bursa Malaysia’s Sustainability Reporting requirements.
Conducted a materiality workshop to identify and prioritise material sustainability issues
Conducted an employee survey and interviews with top management to obtain further qualitative insights for the Sustainability Report
Consolidated results and the resulting materiality matrix was published in the Sustainability Report
Carried out several awareness workshops and clinics with the reporting team to understand information required and developed newsletters to raise the organisation’s awareness on the material sustainability issues

Results:

Client published a sustainability report with enhanced compliance beyond the Bursa Malaysia reporting requirements

Malaysia-based fats and oils refining and blending company

Challenge:

Conducted a gap assessment on the client’s current TCFD response, provided guidance on the TCFD disclosure content and structure for the FY21 reporting cycle, and conducted an overall review of the FY21 Sustainability Report

Solution:

Reviewed the client’s available sustainability & climate related information and highlight the linkage of the client’s TCFD narrative including the overall climate strategy and sustainability strategy & highlighting any key gaps in information or positioning
Provided guidance on TCFD disclosure content and structure in the current reporting cycle including the level of detail of the disclosure based on good practice
Provided guidance on positioning any key gaps and forward commitments including review of roadmap and alignment to TCFD
Reviewed the draft TCFD disclosures to advise on the positioning of information and nuances to ensure the right balance of information
Reviewed draft Sustainability Report and sustainability sections of draft Annual Report (three to four rounds)

Results:

The client published their sustainability report with comprehensive TCFD disclosures

Indonesian Plantation Company and Local Real Estate Developer

Challenge:

The client was seeking to develop their inaugural sustainability report in line with the national reporting requirements for listed entities outlined in the Bursa Malaysia Sustainability Reporting Guide (3rd edition). The reporting mechanism would also serve as a guiding point for the client to determine areas of improvements in their sustainability practices across the organisation and adopt the necessary measures to enhance their sustainability journey and provide a meaningful disclosure

Solution:

Performed peer benchmarking against local and international plantation entities to derive best reporting practices
Performed gap analysis against the most recent published sustainability report for the real estate development segment to determine the basis of disclosure
Conducted a briefing session with the client to understand their current state of sustainability initiatives and the overall goal of the management on sustainability

Results:

Developed recommendations report to support the client in developing their sustainability which included illustrative guidance on how the reporting requirements were adhered to which include TCFD recommendations disclosure

Climate Risk Management and Scenario Analysis (CRMSA)

Top tier commercial bank in Malaysia
National Development Bank

Top tier commercial bank in Malaysia

Challenge:

The client was seeking support to develop a sustainability roadmap in responding to the requirements of Malaysia Code of Corporate Governance (MCCG), including the consideration of the principles from Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM)’s Climate Change and Principle-based Taxonomy (CCPT), and recommendations by the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD)

Solution:

Conducted readiness assessment against the applicable standards and guidelines and provided recommendations
Performed qualitative scenario analysis on climate risks and opportunities
Identified key activities/initiatives required to implement the detailed recommendations and
Developed implementation roadmap over the short, medium and long term
Supported the capacity building for first line of defence

Results:

The sustainability roadmap (including qualitative scenario analysis report) provided was used by the client to support the integration of sustainability into their strategy over the short, medium and long term.

National Development Bank

Challenge:

The client was seeking guidance and implementation assistance in responding to the requirements of Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM)’s Policy Document on CRMSA.

Solution:

Conducted readiness assessment against CRMSA requirements
Developed detailed and thematic recommendations
Identified and prioritised key activities and tasks based on the recommendations
Socialised findings with management and formulated implementation plan
Performed desktop research and peer benchmarking against local and international development banks
Organised focus group discussions with management to obtain their feedback and refine as necessary

Results:

Developed Gap Analysis & Implementation Plan on CRMSA report to respond to the requirements of BNM which includes illustrative guidance to implement the recommendations.