Foreword from the Expert Team:
Through our work alongside hundreds of Vietnamese enterprises preparing sustainability reports, we – Carbon Credit Viet Nam Joint Stock Company – have observed a common reality: many enterprises understand that they need to prepare an ESG/sustainability report, but do not know where to start or what process to follow.
The most frequently asked question is: “Should we follow the GRI standard or ISSB? How do these two standards differ? What are the specific steps in the process?” This confusion is entirely understandable, as the global sustainability reporting landscape is changing rapidly, with multiple regulatory frameworks running in parallel.
This article has been compiled based on our practical experience, combined with research into the official guidance documents from GRI and the IFRS Foundation. Our goal is to provide your enterprise with a clear, systematic 6-step roadmap for preparing a sustainability report to international standards – from preparation and materiality assessment, through data collection, to finalization and publication of the report.
1. Overview: GRI and ISSB – The world’s two leading standards
When Preparing a Sustainability Report, it is important to understand the two widely used international frameworks: the GRI Standards (Global Reporting Initiative) and the ISSB Standards (International Sustainability Standards Board – comprising IFRS S1 and IFRS S2).
| Criterion | GRI Standards | ISSB (IFRS S1/S2) |
|---|---|---|
Primary audience | Multi-stakeholder (employees, communities, regulators, civil society) | Investors, lenders, creditors |
Materiality perspective | Impact Materiality (the enterprise’s impacts on the outside world) | Financial Materiality (impacts on enterprise value) |
Topic coverage | Comprehensive ESG (Economic, Environmental, Social) | Currently: S1 (general) + S2 (climate); Future: to be expanded |
Mandatory status | Voluntary globally (referenced by many stock exchanges) | Mandatory in 37 countries (accounting for 60% of global GDP) |
Level of adoption | More than 14,000 organizations worldwide | Mandatory in 37 countries (accounting for 60% of global GDP) |
The good news is that these two standards are converging strongly. In June 2025, GRI updated its climate standard GRI 102 to be compatible with IFRS S2, allowing enterprises to prepare a single set of greenhouse gas emission disclosures that satisfies both standards simultaneously (IFRS Foundation, 2025; Green Central Banking, 2025).
2. The 6-Step Process for Preparing a Sustainability Report
Based on official guidance from GRI (GRI 1: Foundation 2021) and the IFRS Foundation (IFRS S1, S2), combined with practical experience, we propose the following 6-step process:
| Step | Step name | Main objective |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Planning & Scoping | Define the standards framework and reporting boundary, establish the project team |
| 2 | Stakeholder engagement | Identify the expectations of investors, employees, communities and customers |
| 3 | Materiality assessment | Identify the material topics to be reported (impact + financial) |
| 4 | Data collection & management | Collect E, S, G data using standardized templates |
| 5 | Report drafting & design | Write the content, build the narrative, design the presentation |
| 6 | Quality assurance & publication | Independent assurance, internal approval, publication & communication |
Publication channels:
The corporate website (Sustainability section); the integrated annual report; a standalone sustainability report (PDF and interactive web); regulatory filings (as required by stock exchanges); and specialized platforms (CDP, GRESB).
Step 1: Planning and Scoping
This is the foundational step that determines the quality of the entire process. According to GRI 1: Foundation 2021, the organization needs to carry out the following tasks (GRI, 2021a):
Secure senior leadership commitment: Sustainability reporting requires cross-departmental coordination; only commitment from senior leadership can ensure the necessary resources and cooperation.
Select the standards framework: Determine whether to report under GRI, ISSB, or a combination of both. For listed Vietnamese enterprises, we recommend using GRI as the foundation (with its broad ESG coverage) combined with the requirements of Circular 96/2020/TT-BTC.
Define the reporting boundary: Use the operational control approach or the equity share approach under the GHG Protocol. The boundary must remain consistent across years.
Establish a cross-functional project team: Including representatives from: the Executive Board (sponsor), the ESG/Sustainability Department (lead), Finance, Operations/EHS, Human Resources, Legal, IT, Investor Relations, and Procurement/Supply Chain.
Timeline recommendation: For enterprises preparing a report for the first time, 12-18 months are needed to complete a full cycle. In subsequent years, this can be shortened to 6-9 months.
Step 2: Stakeholder engagement
GRI 2: General Disclosures 2021 (Disclosure 2-29) requires the organization to disclose its approach to stakeholder engagement. IFRS S1 also emphasizes understanding investors’ expectations regarding sustainability-related risks and opportunities (GRI, 2021b; IFRS Foundation, 2023a).
Identify the key stakeholder groups: Including internal groups (employees, management, the Board of Directors) and external groups (investors, customers, suppliers, regulators, local communities, civil society organizations, industry associations).
Deploy multiple engagement methods: Online surveys to gather quantitative data; in-depth interviews with key stakeholders; focus groups for in-depth discussion; public consultation with communities.
Record and analyze systematically: Map stakeholder concerns against the results of the impact assessment; identify points of convergence and divergence between groups; feed the results back as input for Step 3.
Step 3: Materiality Assessment
This is the most important step in the process – determining which topics need to be reported. GRI 3: Material Topics 2021 provides a detailed 4-step process (GRI, 2021c):
| GRI 3 step | Activities to perform |
|---|---|
3.1. Understand the context | Map business activities, value chain relationships, stakeholders, and the sustainability conditions in the places of operation |
3.2. Identify impacts | Identify actual and potential impacts on the economy, the environment and people – including both positive and negative impacts, short-term and long-term |
3.3. Assess significance | Use 3 criteria: Scale, Scope, and Irremediable character. For potential impacts: add Likelihood |
3.4. Prioritize for reporting | Rank by severity, set a transparent threshold, and group related impacts into reporting topics. Document the threshold criteria in the report |
For enterprises that also need to comply with ISSB, the “Financial Materiality” perspective must be added – that is, assessing whether sustainability issues could affect the enterprise’s cash flows, access to capital, or cost of capital over the short, medium and long term (IFRS Foundation, 2023a).
Step 4: Data Collection and Management
When Preparing a Sustainability Report, data collection is typically the most time-consuming and labor-intensive step. According to a Carbon Direct survey (2024), 83% of enterprises encounter difficulties collecting accurate emissions data, particularly for Scope 3.
The types of data to be collected for each ESG pillar:
| E – Environment | GHG emissions (Scope 1, 2, 3); Energy consumption by source; Water use and discharge; Solid and hazardous waste; Biodiversity impacts |
|---|---|
| S – Social | Workforce composition and diversity; Occupational safety incidents (TRIR, LTIR); Training hours; Turnover rate; Community investment; Wages and benefits |
| G – Governance | Board structure and diversity; Executive remuneration; Ethics training completion; Risk management processes; Anti-corruption policies |
Data quality management principles: Apply the COSO framework to ESG data – ensuring completeness, accuracy, validity, and restricted access. Maintain an audit trail recording sources, transformations, and approvals.
Supporting tools: Popular ESG software platforms include Workiva (integrated financial reporting), Persefoni (carbon accounting), IBM Envizi (large enterprise scale), and Sweep (CSRD-focused). Costs range from USD 5,000-200,000 per year depending on scale.
Step 5: Report Drafting and Design
A sustainability report is not merely a collection of figures; it needs to tell a coherent story about the enterprise’s sustainability journey. GRI 1 defines 8 reporting quality principles: Accuracy, Balance, Clarity, Comparability, Completeness, Sustainability context, Timeliness, and Verifiability (GRI, 2021a).
Recommended report structure:
Message from Leadership – Sustainability commitment and vision
Organizational profile – Scale, activities, value chain
Reporting methodology – Standards framework, boundary, materiality process
Material topics – Detailed discussion of each topic
Sustainability governance – Oversight structure, policies
Strategy and targets – Future direction
Indicators and performance – ESG data by year
Standards index – GRI Content Index, SASB alignment
Assurance statement – If independently verified
Step 6: Quality Assurance and Publication
Independent assurance is becoming increasingly important. According to a PwC survey (2023), 85% of investors say that “reasonable assurance” would significantly increase their confidence in sustainability reports.
Two levels of assurance:
| Criterion | Limited Assurance | Reasonable Assurance |
|---|---|---|
Level of confidence | Moderate (negative conclusion) | Highest (positive conclusion) |
Effort/Cost | 40-60% compared with Reasonable | Equivalent to a financial statement audit |
Applicable standards | ISAE 3000, AA1000AS, ISSA 5000 | ISAE 3000, ISSA 5000 |
Notably, the IAASB approved the new standard ISSA 5000 (International Standard on Sustainability Assurance) in September 2024, effective from 15/12/2026. This is the first standard designed specifically for sustainability assurance and can be used by both auditors and non-accountant assurance providers (IAASB, 2024; Texas CPA, 2025).
3. Specific considerations for Vietnamese enterprises
Under Circular 96/2020/TT-BTC, public companies, listed companies, securities companies and fund management companies must disclose sustainability information in their annual reports. The requirements include (Ministry of Finance, 2020):
Environmental disclosures: Total direct and indirect GHG emissions (Scope 1, 2); emission reduction measures; energy consumption; water use; waste management; compliance with environmental laws.
Social disclosures: Labor policies and headcount; gender equality; occupational health and safety; training; community investment.
From 01/01/2025, large-scale public companies must disclose in both Vietnamese and English (Circular 68/2024/TT-BTC). This requires enterprises to raise the quality of their reporting to meet the expectations of international investors.
4. Conclusion
Preparing a sustainability report to international standards is no longer optional; it is becoming a prerequisite for accessing capital and markets. With the growing convergence between GRI and ISSB, enterprises can build a unified data collection system that serves multiple standards frameworks simultaneously.
The 6-step process presented in this article provides a systematic roadmap, from planning through to publication. The key points are: start early (12-18 months for the first time), secure senior leadership commitment, invest in data systems, and prepare for independent assurance from the very beginning.
Vietnamese enterprises should comply with the mandatory requirements under Circular 96/2020/TT-BTC, while also leveraging international frameworks such as GRI to raise reporting quality, access sustainable finance, and meet the expectations of partners in the global supply chain.
A message from the ESG Expert Team – Carbon CREDIT VIET NAM Joint Stock Company
Over many years of supporting Vietnamese enterprises with sustainability reporting, we have found that the greatest difficulty lies not in technique but in the shift in mindset. Many enterprises still view the sustainability report as a “compliance burden” rather than a “strategic tool”.
Our experience shows that the enterprises that treat the reporting process as an opportunity to “look in the mirror” – reviewing their operations, identifying risks, and pinpointing opportunities for improvement – are the ones that derive real value from sustainability reporting. They not only fulfill their disclosure obligations but also build a culture of sustainability from within.
If your enterprise is preparing its first sustainability report, or wishes to upgrade from a basic report to full GRI/ISSB standards, our team of experts is ready to accompany you – from strategic consulting, internal training and data collection support, to drafting and designing the complete report.
Respectfully,
ESG Expert Team – Carbon Credit Viet Nam Joint Stock Company
Reference List
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Ministry of Finance (2020) Circular No. 96/2020/TT-BTC providing guidance on information disclosure on the securities market. Hanoi: Ministry of Finance.
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IFRS Foundation (2023a) IFRS S1 General Requirements for Disclosure of Sustainability-related Financial Information. London: IFRS Foundation. Available at: https://www.ifrs.org/ (Accessed: February 2025).
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IFRS Foundation (2025) ‘GRI 102 and IFRS S2—Reporting on both standards and equivalence for IFRS S2 on GHG Emissions Disclosures’, IFRS News, June 2025. Available at: https://www.ifrs.org/ (Accessed: February 2025).
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Texas Society of CPAs (2025) ‘IAASB Approves New Standard on Sustainability Assurance’, Today’s CPA Magazine, November-December 2025. Available at: https://www.tx.cpa/ (Accessed: February 2025).
Disclaimer:
This article has been prepared for the purpose of providing general guidance information and does not constitute professional advice. Reporting standards may be updated, and their specific application depends on the circumstances of each enterprise. Enterprises should consult ESG advisory experts before implementation.
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