Sustainability Assurance

Integrate sustainability into your business

Sustainability is no longer a complementary feature of your company’s value proposition, but a need that must be integrated into your business model for long-term success and viability.

The reality in which organizations operate is defined by megatrends, such as increased connectivity and mobility, climate change, depletion of natural resources and rapid urbanization.

Stakeholders, including consumers, investors, employees and society in general, demand that organizations go beyond mere compliance with legal requirements and, instead, have a positive impact that reflects a true commitment to sustainability and climate action leadership. We can help you to make an active contribution to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by supporting you on the journey toward value creation across your entire business model.

Why SGS sustainability assurance?

As a leader in sustainability for over 30 years, we continue to be an active participant in demonstrating best practices and developing international standards and guidelines. As a result, we have experts across many industries to provide a wide range of sustainability assurance services.

We enable you to:

Establish your vision and road map through comprehensive services, tailored to your needs
Create trust and certainty in your sustainability, whatever your organization’s size, complexity or sector
Measure your sustainability impacts
Enhance your Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) management
Reduce energy use, carbon footprint and waste
Implement more efficient processes
Address stakeholder concerns and risks
Avoid greenwashing
Accomplish your sustainability goals

Wherever you are on your journey and whatever climate action you wish to take, our sustainability assurance services can be customized and optimized to get you to where you want to be.

A comprehensive range of sustainability assurance services

Our services include:

Sustainability strategy and consulting: put sustainable business practices at the heart of your business model
Sustainability disclosure and assurance: communicate sustainability performance and create trust through independent assessment
Climate change mitigation: mitigate, adapt and maximize the business benefits of climate change
Sustainable supply chains: increase trust and the visibility of your value chain
Sustainable finance: transition to a more sustainable economy while mitigating financial risks and creating value

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Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

Investors, clients and society expect organizations to build resilience to climate change and reduce their negative impacts on the environment and people.

An improved ESG strategy and disclosure that fits with your organization’s purpose enables you to respond to these expectations and adapt to changes and challenges while taking advantage of opportunities. More importantly, your ability to evaluate and demonstrate your positive contribution can enhance the competencies that lead to a more sustainable future.

Whatever your ESG maturity level, our customizable ESG services include:

ESG Training
ESG Health Check
ESG Gap Analysis
ESG KPI Verification and Assurance
ESG Disclosures and Sustainability Report Assurance
ESG Certification

Our ESG Health Check is designed to efficiently measure your ESG performance. It gives you an objective snapshot of the status of ESG management and risks, to help you move forward effectively.

We also have ESG eLearning suitable for any employees who are new to the topic. It provides an informative basis to allow them to understand their role and their organization’s role in supporting ESG.

An organization’s environmental performance is closely linked to environmental management.

ISO 14001 provides an environmental management system (EMS) framework to help organizations enhance their environmental performance, fulfill related compliance obligations and achieve environmental objectives.

Certification to the standard is integral to reducing your environmental impact. ISO 14001 applies to all organizations and the environmental aspects of their activities, products and services that can control or influence from a life-cycle perspective.

The standard specifies EMS requirements that enhance your organization’s environmental performance. You can learn to systematically manage the environmental responsibilities that contribute to sustainability.

Businesses that neglect to incorporate socially responsible behavior into their strategies, systems and practices are likely to fall behind their competitors.

An ISO 26000 (social responsibility) performance assessment is suitable for all organizations. It works as a tool to identify your organization’s performance level at the time of the assessment. It will help you to operate in the socially responsible manner that society increasingly demands.

Develop, maintain and apply socially acceptable practices across your workplace with SA8000 – the leading social certification standard.

This Social Accountability International (SAI) standard has evolved into an overall framework to help you demonstrate dedication to treating workers fairly. Created in 1989 by SAI, an affiliate of the Council on Economic Priorities, SA8000 is the most globally accepted, independent workplace standard for any organization.

Your organization, venue or event impact the environment and economy at several levels, including water consumption, solid waste production, energy consumption, effects on biodiversity, employment and supplier selection.

ISO 20121 (event sustainability management systems) certification and training can help your organization to set and achieve realistic targets, as well as implement the policies and procedures to achieve best practices.

A Forest Stewardship Council (FSC™) Forest Management certification assures buyers that timber has come from a forest evaluated and certified as being managed according to the correct social, economic and environmental standards.

Forest Management certification is an independent assessment that ensures your forest management practices comply with FSC™ internationally recognized standards.

Forestry Product Chain of Custody (COC) certification enables you to demonstrate that the wood you trade or use comes from well-managed forests or other controlled sources.

ISO 14046 (water footprint) certification and training can help you to assess your current situation, including products, processes and organizations based on a life-cycle assessment.

More than ever, financial institutions and project sponsors are under pressure for a perceived lack of transparency and risk management concerning social and environmental responsibility.

By adopting the Equator Principles, the financial industry has social and environmental benchmarks for managing financial projects. An Equator Principles assessment includes a voluntary credit risk management framework and social and environmental risk assessment guidelines for the projects you finance.