CRITERIA TO BE APPLIED BY AN ORGANIZATION TO PREPARE
ITS SUSTAINABILITY REPORT ‘IN ACCORDANCE’ WITH THE
GUIDELINES
3.1 THE CRITERIA
The Guidelines offer two options to an organization in order to prepare its sustainability report ‘in accordance’ with the
Guidelines: the Core option and the Comprehensive option. Each option can be applied by all organizations, regardless of their
size, sector or location.
The focus of both options is on the process of identifying material Aspects. Material Aspects are those that reflect the
organization’s significant economic, environmental and social impacts; or substantively influence the assessments and decisions
of stakeholders.
The Core option contains the essential elements of a sustainability report. The Core option provides the background against
which an organization communicates the impacts of its economic, environmental and social and governance performance.
The Comprehensive option builds on the Core option by requiring additional Standard Disclosures of the organization’s strategy
and analysis, governance, and ethics and integrity. In addition, the organization is required to communicate its performance
more extensively by reporting all Indicators related to identified material Aspects.
An organization, whether it is a new or experienced reporter, has to choose the option that best meets its reporting needs and,
ultimately, enables it to meet its stakeholders’ information needs.
The options do not relate to the quality of the report or to the performance of the organization. They reflect the compliance of
the organization’s sustainability report with the Guidelines.
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