Today, the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) launched the Reporting Exchange –  the single most up-to-date and comprehensive source of information on sustainability reporting requirements and resources currently available. 

The Reporting Exchange is a free, online platform designed to help business navigate the often-confusing world of corporate reporting.

Over the past 25 years, there’s been more than a ten-fold increase in the number of corporate reporting requirements on environmental, social and governance issues. Lack of coordination makes it frustrating, overwhelming and time-consuming for businesses to keep up.​

The Reporting Exchange will help businesses find trustworthy, up to date and accessible sustainability-related information – making it easier than ever for businesses to know what, when and how to report.

The platform will be a critical tool for people involved in preparing and delivering corporate sustainability, annual or integrated reports. The Reporting Exchange includes information on environmental, social and governance reporting requirements and provides resources from over 60 countries. Reporters and disclosure gurus will find everything from mandatory regulation to supporting guidance, voluntary standards and stock exchange listing requirements.

Boosting clarity in the reporting space will be critical as the role of business in the global sustainability agenda becomes increasingly important.

“Meaningful sustainability reporting can transform the global economy, and business has the opportunity to lead the way,” said Peter Bakker, President and CEO at WBCSD. “The Reporting Exchange is an important step in scaling up our efforts to achieve sustainability, and will be indispensable for anyone who prepares, delivers or studies corporate sustainability reports.”

Businesses are looking for ways to contribute to sustainable development – whether though implementing national climate plans under the Paris Agreement, or through setting up bold targets to drive forward the Sustainable Development Goals. The Reporting Exchange will help them focus and track their efforts.

This new online platform provides business reporters, investors, academics and policymakers with the most up to date and comprehensive set of information on sustainability reporting requirements and resources currently available.

“We look forward to a world where the best companies compete on sustainability performance. The Reporting Exchange will initiate a swift ‘race to the top’ – understanding what to report on and how to report will bring business a long way towards achieving sustainable development as an output of daily operations,” Mr. Bakker said.

Lois Guthrie, Founding Director at CDSB also praised the new platform, “Great developments are happening around the world to encourage or require corporate sustainability reporting. When those developments are disconnected, they have less impact. The Reporting Exchange shows the synergies between national and international developments on sustainability reporting and therefore helps to encourage better coherence between reporting provisions. By demystifying the complex world of corporate reporting, The Reporting Exchange makes it easier for companies to decide how best to report on sustainability.”

Damien Smith, the CEO of Ecodesk said, “Building the Reporting Exchange has been an exciting challenge for the Ecodesk team, and we are pleased that our software development expertise has helped to bring this valuable platform to life. Ecodesk’s mission is always to simplify the complex world of sustainability for our clients, and Reporting Exchange will be another excellent tool in our arsenal to be able to do that.”

The Reporting Exchange is designed as a collaborative platform, providing a space for people to contribute, share insights, good practice and learn from others. The platform is supported by a global community of experts who have contributed their knowledge and expertise.

The platform includes information on environmental, social and governance reporting requirements and resources from 70 sectors and 60 countries. You will find everything from mandatory regulation to supporting guidance, voluntary standards and stock exchange listing requirements.

This project is funded by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.

Find out more at www.reportingexchange.com