The growing importance of environment, social and governance (ESG) performance globally is real and long-term. Over the last 15 years, ESG strategies and reporting practices have been recognised as an essential tool in evaluating businesses across all sectors including corporations, private practice, NFPs and government.
In an operating domain marked by increasing environmental awareness and the resulting regulatory scrutiny, sustainability reporting has become a critical practice for organisations in Australia and accurate and transparent sustainability reporting (including mandatory climate reporting) not only shows a reporters’ commitment to environmental responsibility, but also encourages trust among stakeholders such as shareholders, investors and consumers.
Essential to a robust ESG strategy is the identification of significant ESG issues important to stakeholders; the subsequent formulation of targets and metrics to positively respond to these issues/risks; the the reporting and monitoring of businesses responses; and the auditing and verification of the reported disclosures.
This masterclass provides participants with not only the background to ESG and the regulatory frameworks which underpin it, but also practical strategies for ESG risks identification, measurement, mitigation, and the subsequent reporting in a meaningful way to stakeholders.
Attendees will leave equipped with the ability to meet the mandatory regulatory requirements and stakeholder expectations related to sustainability
About the facilitators
Professor Nigar Sultana
Professor Nigar Sultana is a chartered accountant with over 15 years of experience in tertiary education and research. Over the years, Nigar has been teaching executive education programs, undergraduate and graduate courses on sustainability, ESG regulations, reporting and assurance and carbon accounting both nationally and internationally.
Nigar has a strong track record of grant income and research outcomes in the top 10 A and A* accounting journals in areas such as corporate governance, gender diversity, environmental, ESG sustainability, natural capital accounting, climate and carbon accounting. Nigar’s research work has also been showcased on multiple media platforms including 7News Australia, ABC News, MSN News and other news outlets. Nigar has a very strong research engagement profile with industry including government departments, corporations, and the not-for-profit sector providing operational and workable solutions in areas such as financial literacy and the empowerment of vulnerable communities, gender equity on corporate boards, natural capital accounting, climate and carbon accounting and reporting.
Apart from being a climate research expert on the Australian Accounting Standards Board, Nigar also works with regulators internationally in the areas of mandatory climate-related financial disclosure, GHG assurance, and ethical requirements in GHG assurance to name a few. Nigar is currently serving as the Climate Action Lead and ESG and Carbon Accounting Lead within the Curtin Institute of Energy Transition. In recognition of her research excellence and industry engagement, Nigar has been awarded the “New Researcher of the Year 2015”, the “Researcher of the Year 2019”, the “Research Industry Engagement of the Year (highly commended) 2020” and the “Research Industry Engagement of the Year (highly commended) 2022” awards.
Associate Professor Harjinder Singh
Harj is a Chartered Accountant having worked in public practice for 10 years, including a Big4 accounting firm, before moving to academia. As a then practicing accountant and auditor, Harj was predominantly involved in the assurance discipline, providing auditing and related verification services within financial reporting.
Over the last seven years, Harj has transitioned most of his interest and expertise from the financial reporting domain to the exciting area of sustainability, recognising the need for organisations to change their operating and reporting practices substantially. In the teaching space, Harj is well versed with auditing and governance best practices and uses these capabilities heavily in his engagement activities including climate risk and carbon accounting (measurement, recording, verification and reporting), ESG assurance, financial accountability and operationalising sustainable operations, including the development of ESG reporting and disclosure metrics in the not-for-profit and commercial sectors.
In terms of his most recent accomplishments over the last three years, Harj has the following outcomes; (1) Recent appointment to the Australian Accounting Standards Board’s Climate Research’s Climate Research Expert List. This appointment shapes the future reporting and disclosure requirements of the climate related and sustainability landscape in Australia; (2) The development and implementation of a Natural Capital Accounting framework in the mining sector, the first in Australia. Such a framework is critical to the future operations of the mining sector seeking community and regulatory support for the Social License to Operate needed to drive Australia’s Energy Transition towards its net zero 2030 commitment; (3) Developed capacity for Vietnam as part of the Australia Awards Short Course in climate change/carbon accounting, by helping senior government official’s measure, record and verify their carbon emissions; and (4) Developed capacity for 24 African senior civil servants from 14 African countries as part of the Australia Awards Short Course in the area of climate financing, mechanisms and instruments.