General Manager and shareholder of consulting companies with a Marketing/ business development and a Financial background with direct experience with several sectors (Real estate, Transport, Fintech, Legaltech, M&A, Import- Export, HR, Restructuring). Exco Polska Board Member.
Christina is an experienced consultant who specializes in ESG, sustainability, and climate change. She has over 13 years of expertise and has worked with various organizations, including local municipalities, national government agencies, Directorates-General of the European Commission, and the private sector across different industries. Christina’s projects range from technical and operational support to policy reform, strategy development and implementation, due diligence and compliance, implementation of standards, stakeholder engagement, reporting, materiality assessment, and more. Christina provides a range of services, including waste and energy management, carbon accounting, reporting and offsetting, net-zero carbon and ESG strategy development and implementation, gap analysis and materiality assessment, reporting according to various standards, due diligence, governance, and compliance audits and support, implementing various standards, environmental impact assessments, stakeholder engagement and communication, project management and implementation, training and coaching, and ad hoc support. She is a certified project manager with strong technical and analytical skills, in-depth knowledge of her subject matter, and excellent organisational skills.
Triple Capital Accounting: Incorporating Environmental and Social Dimensions into Financial Reporting
April 21, 2023
Sector: ESG
Our experts and ESG Committee members Laurent Le Pajolec and Christina Tsiarta recently collaborated on an article on Triple Capital Accounting for International Accounting Bulletin. Subscribers can read the full article here, or the summary below.
The Importance of Triple Capital Accounting for Corporate Sustainability
Triple capital accounting (TCA) is a sustainability framework that considers three dimensions of capital – financial, natural, and social – when assessing a company’s performance. Incorporating environmental and social dimensions into corporate decision-making and financial disclosures is gaining traction, with many existing frameworks and standards in the sustainability space.
Evolution of the Concept of Triple Capital Accounting
The International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) is developing two disclosure standards on sustainability-related financial information and climate-related disclosures. These standards will incorporate industry-based disclosure requirements from the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) standards and are expected to be launched in early 2023.
The newly formed Taskforce on Nature-Related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) is also developing a framework to enable companies and financial institutions to integrate nature and biodiversity into decision-making and reporting. This initiative is even more pertinent following the adoption of the Kumming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) in December 2022.
TCA is a priority for the European Union and globally for the World Bank, which is focusing on economic, green, and socio-economic recovery, post-COVID-19, and is pushing for natural capital accounting and social capital accounting to become the norm for corporate reporting.
Benefits of TCA for Corporations
Moving to triple capital accounting will require a paradigm shift with major transformations for the corporate world. However, it will also create strong opportunities, including access to new markets, managing risks, adding value to the brand and image of organizations, compliance with upcoming legislation, and attracting new clients and talent.
Methodologies for TCA may vary, but they all aim to incorporate environmental and social dimensions into financial reporting. Organizations have a long way to go until this type of accounting becomes mainstream. However, those who want to survive and thrive in the corporate world and be active stakeholders must move beyond a focus on just financial capital and rethink how they can account for and preserve all three capitals.
Conclusion
Incorporating triple capital accounting into corporate decision-making and financial disclosures is a crucial step towards achieving sustainability. Companies must embrace this framework to address the urgent need to preserve natural resources, protect biodiversity, and improve social outcomes. By adopting TCA, organizations can benefit from new opportunities while mitigating risks and safeguarding the planet’s future.
If you would like to talk to our experts about triple capital accounting, please get in touch.
