| Approx Course Duration *: | Equivalent to Approx. 1 Hour/s |
| Access to Course Content: | 18 Months from the date of enrolment |
| Qualification/s: | Focus on ESG Principle 9 Reporting |
| CPD Hours: | 1 Continuing Professional Development Hours |
ESG reporting is where strategy, performance, and accountability come together. Clause 9 of ISO IWA 48:2024 provides structured, principles-based guidance to help organisations report ESG information that is credible, balanced, comparable, and trustworthy — not just compliant.
This microcredential focuses on Clause 9 – Reporting, guiding learners through ESG reporting principles, report quality, materiality, coverage, metrics, targets, and assurance. You’ll explore how ESG reporting should reflect real impacts, risks, and opportunities using risk-based and evidence-based approaches, while remaining understandable and decision-useful for stakeholders.
Rather than treating reporting as a box-ticking exercise, ISO IWA 48 positions ESG reporting as a strategic communication tool — supporting transparency, accountability, and long-term organisational resilience, while aligning with recognised global frameworks and directives.
Who this course is for
This course is designed for professionals responsible for ESG reporting, disclosures, or assurance, or those supporting organisations in producing high-quality ESG reports.
It’s ideal for:
- ESG, sustainability, and reporting professionals
- Risk, governance, and compliance practitioners
- Internal auditors and assurance team members
- Consultants supporting ESG disclosures or reporting frameworks
- Managers responsible for ESG data, metrics, and reporting quality
No prior ESG or ISO certification experience is required.
What you’ll learn
By completing this microcredential, you’ll learn how to:
- Interpret the intent and structure of ISO IWA 48:2024 Clause 9
- Apply ESG reporting principles and quality requirements
- Use risk-based and evidence-based approaches to ESG reporting
- Report ESG information that is accurate, timely, fair, and unbiased
- Determine appropriate report coverage based on materiality
- Align ESG reporting with organisational strategy, governance, and risk management
- Apply principles for relevance, comparability, transparency, and verifiability
- Understand the role of assurance and different levels of assurance
- Align ESG reports with global schemes, directives, and ISO standards
What you’ll be able to do
After completing the course, you’ll be able to:
- Support the development of credible, high-quality ESG reports
- Help organisations avoid selective reporting and greenwashing risks
- Apply consistent ESG reporting principles across reporting cycles
- Prepare ESG disclosures for internal review or external assurance
- Improve comparability and clarity of ESG metrics and targets
- Strengthen stakeholder confidence through transparent ESG reporting
- Contribute to mature, evidence-based ESG governance and decision-making
This microcredential can be stacked with other ISO IWA 48 ESG modules — including Environmental (Clause 5), Social (Clause 6), Governance (Clause 7), and Compliance & Conformity (Clause 8) — or used as a foundation for ESG Internal Auditor or Lead Auditor pathways within ATOL.
A stackable, certified microcredential on credible, transparent ESG reporting.
Why this microcredential matters: Clause 9 defines reporting as central to ESG transparency, emphasizing accuracy, timeliness, fairness, relevance, and interoperability with financial reporting .
High-quality reporting builds stakeholder trust and supports informed decision-making.
This microcredential contains the following lessons, with a knowledge check and a short-format exam upon completion.
| Lesson Topic | Focus Area | Key Takeaways |
|---|---|---|
| Clause 9.1 | ESG Reporting – General | Develop reports that provide a fair, balanced, and accurate representation of material ESG impacts and performance. |
| Clause 9.2 | Reporting Principles and Quality | Apply principles including accuracy, timeliness, fairness, relevance, comparability, transparency, and verifiability. |
| Clause 9.3 | Assurance | Strengthen credibility through documented methodologies, internal controls, and independent assurance processes. |
| Clause 9.4 | ESG Reporting Schemes and Directives | Align reporting with recognized international frameworks and regulatory schemes to support interoperability and comparability. |
Course details:
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Microcredential
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Approx 1 hours full-time study*
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Stackable Digital Microcredential
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Standard: IWA 48:2024 ESG
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No prerequisites required
* All ATOL courses are delivered in such a way you can work through them at your own pace, the actual time to complete the training may change depending on the individual learners' experience and/or learning style
NO PREREQUISITES