ACCA at COP29: 'Urgent need to adopt sustainability reporting standards'

Leading global accountancy body works to ensure the Azerbaijan climate conference understands the crucial importance of building skills in climate finance, business resilience and sustainability reporting.

ACCA is at COP29 in Azerbaijan with key partners working to emphasise the importance of adopting sustainability reporting standards.

In a series of meetings and panel discussions, ACCA is raising awareness of how the adoption of sustainability disclosures is driving investment in businesses and the net-zero transition. It has also issued an urgent call for this to speed up and become universal.

ACCA also highlighted the pressing need for more professional skills capacity in sustainability.

The skillset of the accountancy profession is broadening to embrace sustainable business, finance and reporting, and the association is working to spread these skills as widely as possible.

At the same time, it also ensures delegates to the UN Climate Conference are aware of the vital role that small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) have in ensuring business moves to net zero emissions.

Vikas Aggarwal, regional head of public affairs for Europe, Eurasia, Middle East and the Americas at ACCA, said: "It’s crucial that SMEs – the backbone of supply chains and economies across the world – aren’t forgotten in the journey to net zero.

"But they face huge challenges, including accessing sustainable finance and a lack of professional skills needed to adopt sustainable business models."

ACCA has led the accountancy profession in taking action on climate change, including sharing best practices, creating knowledge hubs, working with partners across the globe, building world-leading education and learning opportunities, providing guidance and toolkits on sustainability reporting.

For instance, in September it launched a new professional diploma in sustainability.

At COP16 – the UN Biodiversity Conference, which took place earlier in November – ACCA launched Empowering Business: Navigating Nature-Related Reporting, calling on accountants to get to grips with the concepts, principles, challenges and opportunities of nature-related reporting.

As COP29 opened, ACCA published a new report which outlined how unprepared businesses are for climate-related disasters.

"As the conference draws to a close, ACCA is set to release a sustainability guide to preparation – telling a connected story," it said.

"Financial professionals are in no doubt that huge investment is needed in clean energy and sustainable business. Part of ACCA’s role is to explain and amplify that message to business and government. That is why we were so pleased to be part of the discussion at COP29.

"Over the week it has been highlighted how resilience will be key, as explored in our new report. A focus on skills development is crucial, we’ll continue to work urgently to play our part because the critical need is to take action," Aggarwal said.