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Leverage Takes You Through AA1000 ESG Report Assurance|ESG Insights|Leverage

Leverage Takes You Through AA1000 ESG Report Assurance

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ESG Report Assurance

With the rapid increase in the number of companies disclosing ESG reports, stakeholders, especially investment institutions, are increasingly concerned about the quality of ESG reports and the credibility of the information disclosed. Regulatory agencies such as the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, the SEC, and the European Union make requirements or suggestions for listed companies on the quality of sustainable information disclosure. It is recommended that companies ensure the reliability of ESG information through third-party verification, and ESG ratings such as MSCI, CDP, and DJSI are recommended. The index will use third-party verification as a scoring criterion. Conducting ESG reporting validation increases the credibility and transparency of information and data reporting.

Assurance refers to the fact that the subject of the assurance process puts forward a conclusion on the subject of the audit, in order to enhance the trust of the expected users other than the responsible party in the information of the subject to be audited. The basis of the assurance business is professionalism and independence. Audit subject to perform.

What international standards are ESG reports based on?

At present, the authoritative standards and guidelines are: AA1000 prepared by ISEA (Association for Social and Ethical Responsibility), and ISAE3000 prepared by IAASB (International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board). Among them, AA1000 is the first authoritative verification standard with ESG information disclosure as the main body, and has a wide range of applications. Since the promulgation of this standard, the number of international companies that conduct verification and issue ESG verification reports according to this standard has gradually increased.

Why use the AA1000 Assurance Standard?

The AA1000 Assurance Standard was compiled by the Institute for Social and Ethical Accountability (ISEA) in 2003. It mainly provides standards for stakeholder activities, public disclosure and assurance. It is closely related to the company's ESG report and is the first in the world. Assurance standards for ESG reporting. Its main purpose is to improve organizational performance in sustainability and includes an innovative set of standards, guidelines and user notes.

The AA1000 Assurance Standard is designed to improve the credibility of ESG reporting by using a set of principles and criteria to evaluate the quality of a reporting entity’s ESG reporting and the reporting entity’s systems, processes and capabilities to support its ESG performance. The evaluation results are communicated to users of the information to confirm the credibility of the ESG report.

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Basic Principles of AA1000 Assurance Standards

Materiality Principle

Assurance providers are required to state whether the reporting entity has included in its ESG reporting information about the reporting entity’s sustainability situation that is required by its stakeholders to make judgments, decisions and actions

Integrity Principle

Assurance providers are required to assess the extent to which reporting entities identify and understand important aspects of their sustainability performance

Responsiveness Principle

Assurance providers are required to evaluate whether the reporting entity has responded to its stakeholder issues, policies and relevant standards and has adequately articulated these responses in the ESG report

What are the benefits for companies to carry out ESG report verification?

Improving the level of information disclosure can gain consumer recognition, create product competitive advantages, improve corporate reputation, and increase corporate value
Voluntary information disclosure can effectively reduce the degree of information asymmetry between enterprise managers and external investors, thereby reducing the cost of capital of enterprises, which is conducive to raising financing prices and obtaining refinancing opportunities, so that enterprises can achieve more in the capital market. More financing, and ultimately enhance the core competitiveness of enterprises
Companies voluntarily conducting ESG report verification can expand their research on their own non-financial information disclosure, facilitate taking effective measures to improve the level of ESG fulfillment, thereby reducing the gap between the social responsibility that the enterprise should fulfill and the expectations of stakeholders to fulfill the social responsibility. Better reflect stakeholder needs to maintain sustainable development

What do companies need to prepare for ESG report verification? how much is the cost?

The evaluation methods include but are not limited to: interviews with management, interviews with employees, communication with stakeholders, document tracing, project inspection, etc. The purpose is to understand that the company's sustainable development work is consistent with the report content, and to understand the data collection process, etc. Ensure the credibility of the report.

Businesses need：

Clarify the purpose and scope of the audit
Understand what stakeholders expect from the business
Communicate with the data providing department to clarify the verification purpose and related work
Provide data collection forms and reports
Arrange interviews with management, employees and stakeholders
Communicate with the data providing department to clarify the verification purpose and related work
Assist in preparing relevant documents for verification Arrange project inspections

Fee for report:

According to the operating income of each enterprise, royalties ranging from 250 to 650 pounds need to be paid to the platform, and the service fee of the verification agency must also be paid. For details, please consult the verification agency.

Shanghai Leverage Supply Chain Management Co., Ltd. Leverage has been approved as an AA1000 Sustainable Development (ESG) certification body. Leverage will collaborate with AccountAbility to provide professional assurance services on sustainability information and corporate responsibility disclosure, providing clients with confidence in addressing sustainability challenges and investor scrutiny.

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Leverage is a clean, transparent and responsible third-party supply chain management service company. It is also a certification body of the National Certification and Accreditation Administration (CNCA-R-2020-707), China National Accreditation Service for Conformity Assessment (CNAS IB0605), LCA Member units of the Full Life Cycle Green Management Professional Committee, as well as member units of many international organizations such as UNGC, UNEP, AWS, SAI, etc. As an AA1000-accredited assurance agency, Leverage will use the expertise of its own team to provide professional assurance services for corporate sustainability reports.

If you want to know more information, please contact us:

■ Shanghai :
Leverage Limited (Shanghai) Co., Ltd.
Address: Room 402, No 2. Building, No .1328, Hengnan Rd, Shanghai, China
Phone: + 86 21 64067720
Email: cs@leveragelimited.com

■ Hongkong :
Leverage Global Limited
Address: Room 1318-19, Hollywood Plaza, 610 Nathan Road, Mongkok, Kowloon, Hong Kong
Phone: + 852 9045 0526
Email: info@leveragelimited.com

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我们的资质或实践：

·SAI 批准的 SA8000 认证机构（NO.046）

·中国合格评定国家认可委员会检验鉴定机构CNAS （NO.IB0605)

·国际劳工组织（ILO）SCORE 可持续发展项目许可机构

·中国海关总署批准的检验鉴定机构（No.683）

·HIGG FEM环境项目验证机构（NO.131899)

·公益金融联盟（GSFN）创始发起单位

·UNGC联合国契约组织成员

·CNCA中国国家认证认可监督管理委员会认证机构

·中国出入境检验检疫协会合规工作委员会成员

·浙江省国际贸易协会数字化专业委员会联合发起单位及专家委员

· UNEP LCI 联合国环境规划署生命周期倡议成员

·长三角一带一路国际认证联盟服务机构

·长三角绿色低碳发展行动共同体成员

·全生命周期绿色管理专业委员会成员单位

·中国企业气候行动CCCA成员

·AA1000可持续发展(ESG)报告验证机构

· 科学碳目标倡议（SBTi）成员

· TCFD气候相关财务信息披露工作组支持者

·EPD环境产品声明中国认可机构

·联合国责任投资原则组织（UN PRI）签署机构

·IIAF 国际反舞弊协会成员

·上海市企业法律顾问协会理事单位

·上海市可持续发展研究会国际标准化专业委员会

·国家“绿色制造体系”第三方评价机构

·零碳工厂评价认证服务机构

·上海市绿色低碳服务机构

·制药供应链负责任倡议PSCI审核机构

·全球电子协会IPC1401 ESG管理体系先学伙伴

·EcoVadis 认可的核心咨询合作伙伴

·中华环保联合会ESG专委会委员单位

·IFRS认可的第三方服务机构

·IAASB认可的第三方服务机构

我们的服务：

Leverage在全球范围内为客户提供站式的解决方案和系列增值服务，包括但不限于如审核、认证、验证、验货、绿色供应链管理、培训、Ecovadis/CDP/NQC-SAQ/SBTi/CSA/MSCI 技术咨询、ILO SCORE 企业可持续发展培训项目、Higg FEM 环境验证项目、服务认证、产品认证、ISO 管理体系认证（ISO9001 质量管理体系、ISO14001 环境管理体系、ISO45001 职业健康安全管理体系、ISO37001 反贿赂管理体系、 ISO37301 合规管理体系、GB/T 39604 社会责任管理体系、ISO20400 可持续采购绩效评估、ISO28000 供应链安全管理体系认证等）、 SA8000 社会责任审核、神秘访客服务、OCI 海洋塑料循环回收认证、定制化可持续发展解决方案和 ESG 报告编制及评级提升、AA1000可持续发展(ESG/TCFD)报告鉴证、ISO14064 和 ISO14067 等温室气体碳盘查、碳足迹、碳管理体系建设、碳中和认证、碳中和路线图披露等相关可持续发展服务。

我们的客户：

我们已经为350多家国内外著名品牌提供了专业服务，其中包括正泰集团、金风科技、华为、晶科能源、瑞可达、中材科技、上下、台达、丰田汽车、奇瑞、晨光、中车、阳光能源、冠捷、臻臣、翔泰、Gildan、The Very Group, The Manufactured Network, ARCO, MuscleSquad, WALMART, GAP, H&M, ZARA, NIKE, ADIDAS, ONLY, PVH, VF, TARGET, Costco, ALDI, DUNELM, ASDA, Coles, JCPenney, COLES, NewLook, B&Q, BAREFOOT, MONSOON, George, Waitrose, RiverIsland, HALFORDS, JohnLewis, Hallmark等。

我们的服务网络：

我们也在包括日本、韩国、越南、柬埔寨、孟加拉、缅甸、马来西亚、印度尼西亚、斯里兰卡、巴基斯坦、美国、英国、意大利等国家设立分公司或代表处，相信能为供应链上游的利益相关方提供更为全面的解决方案。