ESG Pathway Alignment with Key Standards

Supporting regulatory readiness, stakeholder expectations, and sustainability leadership

The ESG Pathway is designed with clear alignment to the world’s most widely recognised environmental, social, and governance standards. This ensures that participating organisations can use their assessment results not only to improve internally — but also to meet the growing demands of customers, investors, regulators, and industry partners.

We have intentionally mapped the ESG Pathway to relevant criteria from frameworks such as ISO 14001, GHG Protocol, Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR), GRI, SASB, and other foundational standards.

Why Alignment Matters

ESG is no longer optional. Increasingly, businesses of all sizes are being asked to:

  • Disclose environmental performance — covering energy use, GHG emissions, waste management, and resource efficiency.

  • Demonstrate social responsibility — with policies and action on wellbeing, diversity and inclusion, labour rights, and supply chain ethics.

  • Provide governance assurance — through data transparency, whistleblowing procedures, executive accountability, and ESG oversight.

Whether driven by legislation (e.g. SECR, CSRD), customer requirements (e.g. supply chain codes of conduct), or investor pressures (e.g. ESG ratings), companies must be ready to show not just intent — but measurable, auditable ESG performance.

The ESG Pathway provides a maturity-based framework that aligns to these needs while remaining accessible and proportionate to your organisation’s size and sector.

Key Standards and Frameworks

Below is a summary of the major ESG frameworks and how the ESG Pathway complements and supports them:

🌍 GHG Protocol

Website: https://ghgprotocol.org The globally accepted standard for greenhouse gas accounting, used across corporate sustainability reporting and carbon disclosure.

ESG Pillar Alignment:

  • Emissions sub-themes focus on Scope 1, Scope 2, and early-stage Scope 3 reporting

  • Supports readiness for inventory building and emissions baselining

  • Introduces recognised calculation methods and reporting standards

📘 ISO 14001 – Environmental Management Systems

Website: https://www.iso.org/iso-14001-environmental-management.html A structured management system standard that defines how organisations manage their environmental responsibilities.

ESG Pillar Alignment:

  • Bronze level introduces environmental policies and planning

  • Silver and Gold reflect structured implementation and review (aligned with EMS cycles)

  • Supports continual improvement principles embedded in ISO frameworks

📊 SECR – Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (UK)

Website: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/streamlined-energy-and-carbon-reporting-secr A UK-specific regulation requiring energy and carbon disclosures for qualifying organisations.

ESG Pillar Alignment:

  • Energy and carbon tracking required at Silver level and above

  • Performance data and KPIs linked to reporting expectations

  • Governance themes promote internal audit and disclosure readiness

🧾 GRI – Global Reporting Initiative

Website: https://www.globalreporting.org A widely used ESG reporting framework focused on sustainability impact, stakeholder engagement, and transparency.

ESG Pillar Alignment:

  • ESG themes align closely with GRI’s core topics (e.g. emissions, labour, ethics, diversity)

  • Outcome statements reflect GRI’s emphasis on measurable practices and stakeholder relevance

  • Supports transition from internal performance to external disclosure

📉 SASB – Sustainability Accounting Standards Board

Website: https://www.sasb.org SASB provides sector-specific standards for financially material sustainability disclosures.

ESG Pillar Alignment:

  • Governance and data sub-themes align with SASB’s focus on ESG risk management and decision-useful metrics

  • Pillar maturity levels help companies prepare for materiality assessments and reporting cycles

  • Silver and Gold maturity indicate readiness for investor-facing ESG transparency

🔐 Modern Slavery Act and Social Responsibility Codes

The ESG Pillar addresses key themes related to human rights, supplier conduct, and workforce ethics — reflecting alignment with:

  • The UK Modern Slavery Act

  • UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights

  • Common supply chain due diligence requirements

Using the ESG Pathway as a Strategic Foundation

Because the ESG Pathway is maturity-based, it can serve as a stepping stone to formal ESG disclosures or audits:

  • Bronze level helps build foundational awareness, define policies, and assign accountability — a precursor to formal systems like ISO or GHG inventories.

  • Silver level reflects structured implementation, internal oversight, and the readiness to engage with ESG audits, customer requests, and stakeholder inquiries.

  • Gold level aligns with full ESG reporting maturity — including integration with investor frameworks, supplier verification programmes, and assurance readiness.

Where third-party certifications (e.g. ISO 14001) may require audits and documentation systems, the ESG Pillar provides an accessible, guided path to get ready for that journey — or demonstrate leadership if you’re already underway.

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