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An ESG glossary for accountants

ByDaniel Hood
January 31, 2023 9:00 AM

Like any area that's of interest to accounting, ESG is rife with acronyms and jargon, covering everything from a multitude of reporting frameworks and standard-setters, to new business entities and major ratings players. A sampling of some of the more important is below.

(For more on the role of accountants in ESG, see "The ESG Opportunity.")

B corp

A company whose social and environmental performance has been certified against standards set by B Lab

CSRD

eu-building.jpg
Olivier Matthys/Bloomberg
The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, the European Union's ESG standards

EcoVadis

A leading provider of sustainability ratings to businesses

FSA

The Fundamentals of Sustainability Accounting credential for SASB standards

GHG

Greenhouse gas

Greenhouse Gas Protocol

smokestack-pollution.jpg
Krisztian Bocsi/Bloomberg
A framework aimed specifically at measuring and managing GHG emissions

GRI

One of the most widely used voluntary reporting frameworks — used by 78% of the 250 largest companies in the world, according to KPMG — created by the eponymous Global Reporting Initiative

Integrated Reporting Framework

A structure for reporting on six main capitals (manufactured capital, natural capital, social and relationship capital, human capital, intellectual capital, and financial capital); it was produced by the International Integrated Reporting Council, which is now merged into the ISSB

ISSB

faber-emmanuel-issb.jpg
Emmanuel Faber
The International Sustainability Standards Board, launched in mid-2022 under the umbrella of the IFRS Foundation, aims to be the main standard-setter for ESG; it incorporates a number of frameworks and standard-setting bodies, most notably SASB, and it currently chaired by former Danone chief exec Emmanuel Faber

MSCI

Morgan Stanley Capital International, an investment research firm that established prominent ESG scores for companies and funds

SASB

The Sustainability Accounting Standards Board and its industry-specific standards — used by 49% of the G250 according to KPMG — which were taken into the ISSB when it merged in the board last year

SBTi

smokestack-emissions.jpg
Bartek Sadowski/Bloomberg
The Science-Based Targets initiative, which aims to help the private sector set goals, or SBTs, for reducing emissions

SDGs

United Nations building in New York
Picasa/bluraz - Fotolia
The United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals — 17 objectives meant to be a "shared blueprint for peace and prosperity;" they include a number of ESG goals, including climate action, gender equality, reduced inequality, clean water and more

TCFD

The Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosures, which publishes recommendations for climate-related disclosures
Daniel Hood
Editor-in-chief, Accounting Today
Audit ESG The ESG Opportunity
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