New Delhi, Feb 25: ACCA has released a new report titled Sustainability reporting: working with estimates, offering practical guidance for organisations navigating data gaps in sustainability reporting.

 The report addresses one of the most pressing challenges in sustainability disclosure—limited, incomplete, or uncertain data. It provides a framework for using reasonable and supportable estimates when hard data is unavailable, enabling organisations to produce credible and decision-useful sustainability information.

As sustainability reporting frameworks continue to evolve globally and in India, businesses are increasingly expected to disclose environmental and social performance metrics. However, many organisations are still building the systems and processes required for consistent data collection.

Md. Sajid Khan, Director at ACCA India, commented:

“As sustainability reporting frameworks continue to evolve in India, organisations are navigating both regulatory expectations and practical data challenges. This guidance acknowledges that while robust measurement remains the goal, businesses often need to work with incomplete or developing datasets in the interim. What is important is not perfection at the outset, but transparency, sound judgement and a clear commitment to continuous improvement. Finance professionals are central to this journey, bringing structure, discipline and credibility to sustainability information as organisations strengthen their reporting capabilities over time.”

Practical Approaches to Working with Estimates

The report outlines several approaches organisations can use to estimate sustainability information in present situations, including:

• Leveraging third-party or proxy data

• Deriving sustainability metrics from financial and operational data

• Applying reasonable assumptions supported by available evidence

While acknowledging that direct measurement remains the long-term objective, ACCA emphasizes that iterative improvement of estimates is a pragmatic and responsible approach in the absence of high-quality data.

Strengthening Data Quality Over Time

To improve sustainability reporting capabilities, the report recommends that organisations:

• Ensure staff understand the purpose of sustainability data collection

• Design robust systems and processes for capturing sustainability metrics

• Integrate sustainability data collection with existing reporting systems

• Implement appropriate controls and governance mechanisms

• Collaborate across the value chain to enhance data accuracy

ACCA underscores that reasonable estimates do not diminish the usefulness of sustainability information—provided they are transparently described and clearly explained. Estimates should be refined as knowledge deepens, assumptions evolve, systems improve, and higher-quality data becomes available.

The guidance reinforces the critical role of finance professionals in embedding discipline and accountability into sustainability reporting practices, ensuring organisations move steadily toward more robust, reliable, and decision-useful disclosures.