SPIN Urges FRC to Regulate Sustainability Reporting

The Sustainability Professionals Institute of Nigeria (SPIN) has called on the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRC) to regulate corporate sustainability reporting while avoiding the role of defining sustainability practices or competing with the professionals it oversees. SPIN expressed concern over the perception that sustainability reporting and practice are synonymous, stating that reporting is merely a reflection of sustainability performance.

They outlined that sustainability includes governance, strategy, environmental stewardship, climate resilience, biodiversity, human rights, labor practices, stakeholder engagement, responsible investment, the circular economy, community development, and long-term value creation. SPIN emphasized that effective reporting standards should communicate the organization's sustainability efforts but do not constitute the entirety of sustainability.

They asserted that as Nigeria approaches mandatory disclosure, the focus should be on enhancing sustainability performance rather than solely improving reporting quality.