The Philippines’ Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is drafting revised guidelines for sustainability reporting by publicly listed companies (PLCs).
The new guidelines will aim to ensure consistency and uniformity in the sustainability measures reported by PLCs, as well as enhance the quality of the information disclosed.
The revised guidelines will take into consideration global sustainability standards such as IFRS S1 and IFRS S2 among others which have been endorsed by the International Organization of Securities Commissions earlier his year.
The SEC has seen a steady increase in the submission of sustainability reports by PLCs since it issued the first set of guidelines in 2019. In 2021, the compliance rate stood at 95%.
Prior to the release of the guidelines in 2017, only around 22% of PLCs disclosed their sustainability reports to the SEC.
Emilio B. Aquino
“This is a significant step towards consistent, comparable and reliable sustainability information, ending the so-called alphabet soup of voluntary adoption of various standards.
The adoption of the IFRS S1 and S2 standards will complement the commission’s adoption of frameworks under the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, Global Reporting Initiative, Sustainability Accounting Standards Board, and United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)-International Standards of Accounting and Reporting Guidance on Core Indicators.”
said SEC’s Chairperson Emilio B. Aquino.
