Why mandatory sustainability reporting is so much more than a compliance exercise: Finding the path to operational value 

Throughout the course of 2025, we’ve seen a huge uptick in the number of countries that have enshrined sustainability reporting in law. This includes two mandatory ESG disclosure laws in the UK, ​​the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) in the EU, the Australian Sustainability Reporting Standards (ASRS) and other mandates in New Zealand, Japan, Brazil Singapore, Canada and Nigeria, with the list growing each year. 

This means sustainability reporting has become part of business as usual for almost all of the world’s largest 250 companies.

While current legislation often focuses on larger enterprises, this is a trend expected to continue into 2026 and beyond, with mandatory reporting expected of many more company classes in the future. Further, as global markets shift toward mandatory sustainability disclosures, its changing the way that investors operate. IFRS S1 and S2 are rapidly becoming the baseline for investor-grade transparency. 

While the shift of optional reporting to mandatory disclosures has seen many companies question how they will maintain compliance, the global shift is also expected to usher in a new era of efficient and value-driven companies in the long term. 

Once leaders can get beyond thinking of the reports as a tick-box exercise, they can find a way to unlock financial and operational value while reducing risks across the board. It also promises to change the way that investors approach deal-making and due diligence processes. 

The IFRS requirements and disclosure standards are developed to enhance investor-company dialogue so that investors receive decision-useful, globally comparable data. Meanwhile the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) purpose is to empower capital market participants with the right information to support better economic and investment decision-making.

In fact, many leading firms are already operationalizing IFRS requirements to seize the opportunity presented with this new regulatory framework to make informed decisions and invest in companies that will be sustainable financially and environmentally. 

This week Credibl announced details of a new webinar to address the global mandatory reporting trend and give investors, CFOs and CROs practical advice on how to move beyond compliance and unlock the real value that IFRS requirements represent.

From Compliance Burden to Investor Value

On December 10th, tech leaders Luke Gowland of Verdantix and Jitesh Shetty of Credibl will discuss issues related to technological change in the time of climate change in an upcoming free webinar. 

The event will be moderated by Diane Jeanblanc, Director of Business Development at Credibl. 

The featured speaker, Luke Gowland, is a Senior Analyst at Verdantix, an independent analyst firm that supports a global client base through data, reporting and analytics with a focus on sustainability, the green quadrant and ESG. 

Gowland specializes in ESG and sustainability reporting software and financial ESG. He advises both technology buyers and software vendors and services firms on market dynamics, product and service innovation and deployment strategies, covering more than 100 vendors in the ESG and sustainability reporting and data management space. His insights help vendor organizations identify growth opportunities, while enabling buyers to optimize technology spend, reduce business risks and better align solutions with evolving ESG needs.

Speaking on screen next to Gowland will be Jitesh Shetty, the co-founder and CEO of Credibl.

Credibl offers a native AI full-stack platform for decarbonization and ESG data management, supply chain traceability and due diligence reporting for sustainability investing. The platform helps companies worldwide take control of their sustainability data, unlock real-time visibility into progress and produce compliance reports on business activity at the click of a button.

With over 1.2 billion units on the traceability platform, Credibl makes sense of complex global supply chains to help organizations get a true picture of their carbon footprint. 

As the CEO and Founder, Jitesh Shetty has helped Credibl reach over 100 enterprise clients and counting, across industries that range from textiles to hospitality. 

What leaders need to know about the  global regulatory momentum

In the 60-minute webinar coming up on December 10th, Gowland and Shetty will break down the global regulatory momentum that’s set to shape 2026. This will include IFRS S1/S2, CSRD, SEC, AASB, UAE decree. 

The webinar will also look at why investors view sustainability through a financial-risk lens—and what this means for CFOs, CROs, and sustainability leaders, how early adopters are integrating climate risk into financial statements and aligning sustainability with enterprise risk management and the biggest friction points—data collection, Scope 3, scenario analysis—and what survey data reveals about how leaders are addressing them. 

Finally, the session will leave the audience with practical advice on how to take control of sustainability reporting and maintain compliance. Shetty will explain how Credibl’s Smart Sustainability Stack™ enables “do once, report many,” consolidates frameworks, and embeds AI-driven value-chain intelligence. He will also share practical ROI insights related to audit-readiness, assurance efficiency, reduced investor pushback, and time + consulting cost savings. 

Anyone interested can register via the link here.