SLGP7118

Given the importance of standards and guidelines in supporting organizations to adhere to transparency, accountability and disclosure expectations, this course will provide an exploration of the development of standards, guidelines and frameworks. By exploring the frameworks that have developed in direct response to increased demand for organizational accountability, students will learn about those adopted by organizations that in turn have helped to drive the sustainability agenda. Standards, guidelines and frameworks provide a formula or “way of doing things” that describe or promote continuous learning for best practices and provide a point of reference from which to measure improvements and continuous learning.  For example professional standards provide a practical and ethical framework for decision-making by instilling a sense of responsibility and accountability as well as increasing our knowledge base through experience, continuing professional development. The fast development of these frameworks have also increased pressure on organization and we see both pros and cons, and thereby Greenwashing will be discussed. Since the demand for an increased demonstration of responsibility by organizations means improvement in performance against environmental, social and governance measures, this course will explore the growth in the disclosure guidelines and frameworks. Discussions will include the most current changes being driven by the ISSB, SAB, TCFD and TNFD, GRI, along with changes occurring in various markets e.g., EU corporate sustainability reporting directive, EU taxonomy regulation, US securities and exchange Commission Climate Disclosure Rule, Canadian government mandatory TCFD-aligned reporting, Japan financial Services Agency mandatory TCFD reporting and others.

Assessment: 100% coursework