PETALING JAYA: Malaysia has deferred the mandatory reasonable assurance requirement for Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions disclosures by one year to 2028, giving companies more time to strengthen their sustainability reporting processes and data quality, according to a statement by the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC).
The Advisory Committee on Sustainability Reporting (ACSR), chaired by the SC, said the requirement for Group 1 applicable entities under the National Sustainability Reporting Framework (NSRF) will now apply to annual reporting periods beginning on or after Jan 1, 2028, instead of Jan 1, 2027.
The mandatory assurance requirement for Group 2 and Group 3 applicable entities will correspondingly be deferred by one year to 2029 and 2030 respectively.
The decision follows a review by the Minority Shareholders Watch Group (MSWG) and Climate Governance Malaysia (CGM) of the first cohort of 91 Group 1 listed issuers reporting under the IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards.
The review found that further improvements were needed in the quality of sustainability disclosures.
The ACSR said the additional year would support preparers in strengthening reporting processes, internal controls and data quality ahead of mandatory assurance.
Meanwhile, listed issuers will continue to be required under the Main Market and ACE Market Listing Requirements to state whether their sustainability disclosures have been subject to internal review by internal auditors or independently assured by a sustainability assurance provider.
For independent assurance, the International Standard on Sustainability Assurance (ISSA) 5000 will now be the only designated recognised assurance standard.
The ACSR said the two other existing assurance standards, the International Standard on Assurance Engagements (ISAE) 3000 (Revised) and International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standards, will no longer be recommended.
The ACSR will also issue a Sustainability Assurance Guide to support assurance providers and facilitate consistent application of sustainability assurance requirements.
The remaining proposals relating to the sustainability assurance framework will be communicated in due course, it said.
