Could you be an SAP?
investigates the emerging profession of sustainability assurance practitioners
If we were to predict a buzzword of 2010, it would probably be sustainability. As the world begins the slow recovery from global financial crisis and international leaders work to reduce carbon emissions, organizations are more aware than ever of the need to prove themselves to be economically, socially and environmentally sustainable.
Recent events, however, are merely a catalyst to a business agenda that has been growing in importance for decades. In the mid-1990s, utilities companies and organizations in the oil and gas sector began to publish public reports on their environmental performance. To ensure their accuracy, organizations began to look for assurance from independent assessors and the sustainability assurance practitioner role was developed.
Over the last decade developments both within and outside the sustainability assurance sector have aided its growth. A wider recognition of the importance of sustainability, as exemplified by changes in international quality standards, such as ISO 9004, has resulted in a greater demand for assurance practitioners.
Doug Johnston, a lead sustainability assurance practitioner at Ernst and Young, says: ‘I have been a sustainability assurance practitioner for 15 years. It is not a new profession but in the early days it was just a few very high impact sectors that were reporting publicly and seeking assurance. Now there is much more widespread reporting across a whole range of different sectors from financial services through retail to manufacturing.
‘There is a heightened awareness that an organization’s sustainability performance has an important bearing on the underlying performance of an organization. There are a range of drivers for this change including consumers’ awareness of societal issues, greater regulation and stakeholders asking questions about sourcing practices and carbon footprint management.’
Sustainable assurance standard
Following this increase in demand for assurance, AccountAbility, the international institute dedicated to promoting the accountability of sustainable development, developed the first international assurance standard for social and sustainability reporting, AA 1000. Published in 2003 and revised in 2008, the standard has been designed to be consistent with and enhance the Global Reporting Initiative sustainability guidelines.
The standard can be used by any organization to strengthen the creditability of its sustainability reporting. It assesses the quality of the organization’s sustainability reporting and the underlying process, systems and competencies. It also provides guidance on key elements of the assurance process.
AccountAbility also developed training for practitioners and in 2004 IRCA was asked to administer a certified practitioner programme. Sustainability assurance practitioners need a broad range of skills and experience encompassing traditional auditing methods as well as the three key factors of business sustainability: financial, environmental and societal impact.
A typical sustainability assurance audit follows a structure similar to quality audits with three phases: planning and arranging the audit, the on-site visit and writing the report. The audit reviews the sustainability report to ensure that its content is correct and that the correct content is included. Sustainability reports can include a diverse range of information such as details of carbon dioxide production, employee conditions and impact of the organization’s products or services.
It is unusual for assurance practitioners to be able to gain a great deal of experience in each area of sustainability as well as auditing, which is why the IRCA training programme was created. The programme covers a large range of material to ensure that certified practitioners have a broad knowledge of sustainability and auditing practices. However, a specialist interest in either environmental, financial or social impacts is also expected.
Doug says: ‘It’s important that practitioners are not just sustainability specialists, but have in-depth knowledge of at least one aspect of it. Practitioners must first understand assurance principles and business processes and challenges so they can set those technical issues in the context of overall business performance. The IRCA programme requires you to demonstrate that you have those appropriate competencies.’
With sustainability rising to the top of business agendas and an increasing pressure on quality departments to encompass environmental management, understanding the role of the sustainability assurance practitioner is important for management systems auditors and could be a possible future career path.
For more information about becoming a sustainability assurance practitioner visit the IRCA certification programmes pages
 |
 Have an issue to raise? A question to ask? Give us your opinions now in the Online Forums. |
