Sustainability reporting has become a cornerstone of modern business strategy, enabling organizations to transparently communicate their environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance to investors, regulators, and other stakeholders. The IBM Envizi Sustainability Reporting Manager makes this easier with the framework library—a centralized tool that structures reporting standards into clear, answerable questions.

Key Highlights:

• Comprehensive Coverage: Includes both managed (e.g., GRI, IFRS) and custom (e.g., CDP, GRESB) frameworks.

• Flexible Categorization: Frameworks are grouped into five types—Regulatory, Voluntary, Benchmark, Rating Agency, and Materiality—to suit different reporting needs.

• Always Up-to-Date: Managed frameworks are regularly updated to align with the latest global ESG standards.

• Tailored Reporting: Custom frameworks allow businesses to address unique industry or organizational requirements.

The Framework Library

At its core, the framework library is a dynamic repository of ESG reporting standards, represented as structured sets of questions. These frameworks help organizations capture relevant data, ensure compliance, and align with best practices in sustainability disclosure.

The framework library is a comprehensive resource that includes both managed and custom frameworks, offering flexibility while maintaining alignment with global standards.

Understanding Framework Categories

Frameworks in the library fall into five key categories:

• Regulatory – Mandatory frameworks mandated by governments or regulatory bodies. (e.g., CSRD, SEC)

• Voluntary – Standards companies adopt to show ESG leadership. (e.g., GRI, SASB)

• Benchmark – Frameworks for comparing performance across peers or sectors. (e.g., GRESB)

• Rating Agency – Used to assess companies’ ESG metrics for ratings or scores. (e.g., CDP)

• Materiality – Focused on the most significant ESG issues relevant to stakeholders. (organization-specific priorities)

Managed Frameworks: Stay Aligned with Global Standards

Managed frameworks are pre-configured and regularly updated by the IBM ESG Suite team to reflect the latest versions of leading standards. These include:

• Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) – A comprehensive standard for ESG disclosure.

• International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) – Includes ESG-related financial disclosures.

Highlights:

• Full alignment with third-party ESG standards

• Built-in instructions for data collection and reporting

• Available upon request through Envizi ESG Suite support

Each managed framework comes with pre-built questions and guidance, streamlining the process of gathering and reporting ESG data.

Custom Frameworks: Tailored to Your Needs

Not all companies fit into a one-size-fits-all model. With the custom frameworks, organizations can create tailored frameworks to suit their specific reporting goals or industry requirements. You can:

• Manually create and organize questions

• Upload bulk questions using the SRM Framework Upload tool

• Write custom guidance for each question

This flexibility supports internal reporting requirements or emerging standards not yet formalized in managed content.

Popular examples include:

• Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) – Focused on environmental governance, policy, targets, and scenario analysis surrounding climate change, water, and forests.

• Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark (GRESB) – Targeted at sustainability performance of the real estate sector.

These custom frameworks can also be tagged under the same five categories, ensuring consistency in reporting structure.

Why It Matters

The framework library in Envizi's Sustainability Reporting Manager empowers companies to:

• Comply with evolving ESG regulations

• Build trust with investors and stakeholders

• Drive continuous improvement in sustainability performance

Best Practices

• Use managed frameworks for well-established reporting standards.

• Build custom frameworks for internal or emerging requirements.

• Leverage categories and topics to improve navigation and harmonize responses across frameworks.

• Utilize PowerReports for robust analysis and reporting to CDP, GRESB, and others.

As ESG expectations grow more complex, having a structured, flexible, and up-to-date reporting system is no longer optional—it’s essential.

By leveraging IBM Envizi’s framework library, companies can stay compliant, drive ESG performance, and deliver transparent, structured disclosures to stakeholders. For more information, visit IBM Docs.