THE SECURITIES and Exchange Commission (SEC) will gradually enforce revised sustainability reporting among publicly listed companies, the guidelines for which will be released this year, according to the corporate regulator.
“The implementation of the new guidelines will follow a phased timeline, with compliance requirements staggered across tiers of publicly listed companies to ensure a smooth transition,” it said in a notice posted on its website.
The SEC said 2024 sustainability reports due this year could still use the rules issued in 2019. Under the rules, listed companies must submit sustainability reports via a “comply or explain” approach that allows them to disclose corporate sustainability data when available, and provide explanations for items where there are none.
Since requiring listed companies to submit sustainability reports in 2019, the SEC said it has recorded a consistently high compliance rate, reaching 96% in 2023.
In October last year, the commission said the draft memorandum circular containing the revised reporting guidelines would require listed companies to submit reports in the sustainability reporting narrative and sustainability report form formats.
The corporate regulator also said it would create a web-based app to manage the sustainability reports.
The SEC will create the in partnership with climate data and analytics software firm Komunidad Global Services & Operations Philippines, Inc.
“The customized web application will streamline the data collection, verification, management, and analysis of sustainability data, improving the monitoring capabilities of the commission on sustainability reporting compliance of publicly listed companies,” the SEC said. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave