Sustainability assurance in the US is growing quickly, and it is doing so without a single national rule to anchor it.

This month, our Ask Me Anything Provider Series examines how sustainability assurance is evolving in the US. AccountAbility spoke with three of our Licensed Assurance Providers, Sustainability Assurance Services (SAS), VirentAssure, and ISOS Group, to understand how they use the AA1000 Assurance Standard v3 (AA1000AS v3) to meet this challenge.

Three themes emerged:

1. Demand for assurance is rising ahead of regulation

2. Organizations are using assurance to build future sustainability reporting readiness

3. The value of an internationally recognized approach grows as local requirements diverge

Demand for Sustainability Assurance is Increasing in the US

SAS pointed to two key drivers behind the rise in sustainability assurance in the US:

1. Regulatory preparedness: as regulation increasingly requires disclosure and assurance, organizations increasingly seek testing of their data, processes, and controls.

2. Investor expectations: as investors expect more robust data, organizations seek external, independent stamps of approval to meet this demand.

Both drivers align to a theme: what was formerly “voluntary credibility” is shifting to “stand up to scrutiny,” reported VirentAssure. Assurance against the AA1000AS v3 responds directly to this need. Assurance validates the position an organization currently holds, and it produces findings that the organization can use to strengthen the processes and controls they have in place. The emphasis has therefore shifted towards building future sustainability reporting readiness.

AccountAbility has seen the same shift first-hand. The questions we receive from our stakeholders and clients no longer center on why sustainability assurance is necessary – instead they focus on whether current efforts would withstand scrutiny. More than ever, organizations want to know how external validation can strengthen trust within the organization. This repositions sustainability assurance in the US from a nice-to-have to a practical tool for demonstrating transparency and giving stakeholders confidence.

The AA1000AS v3 Meets this Demand

This stakeholder-centric mindset is where the AA1000AS v3 earns its place in the US market. All three providers noted that the Standard carries strong market value on the following fronts:

1. Demonstrating high quality: VirentAssure and ISOS Group highlighted that the AA1000AS v3 can be used to test whether reporting is grounded in stakeholder-informed materiality, strong governance, and evidence. It validates the reported data alongside the structure of the approach taken to identify, manage, and report on material topics.

2. Sustainability reporting readiness: SAS and ISOS Group noted that the AA1000AS v3 allows organizations to evaluate their readiness and to strengthen the processes, controls, and documentation that underpin quality, before they report.

Under SB 253 in California, this has already been demonstrated. The legislation requires the disclosure and assurance of GHG emissions. Our providers noted a distinct benefit of the AA1000AS v3 for that context, given the difficulties in GHG assurance are seldom solely arithmetic.

“GHG assurance isn’t only about calculations, most problems are boundaries, assumptions, data ownership, and missing evidence,” explained VirentAssure. They added that the “AA1000AS v3 helps by strengthening the system around the GHG numbers: clearer accountability and governance, stronger documentation, [and] better linkage between what’s reported and what’s actually managed."

What this indicates more broadly is that unlike other assurance standards which focus on reported data reliability – such as the ISAE3000, ISSA 5000, or ISO 14064-3 – the AA1000AS v3 seeks to verify whether an organization is accountable for its sustainability management, performance, and reporting practice. This includes verifying the disclosed information’s reliability and quality. Organizations therefore not only obtain verification of what they report, but also recommendations for the infrastructure to drive long-term management and improvement.

A Value Beyond Compliance

Mandated assurance, however, remains limited in the US. As sustainability disclosure and assurance vary by state, the US landscape is fragmented and organizations in many states have no mandatory assurance requirement. Demand for assurance continues to grow, regardless, driven by expectations of transparency and stakeholder accountability.

In this voluntary space, the organizations that gain the most tend to be those that treat assurance as a value driver rather than simply an obligation. These organizations use the AA1000AS v3 to validate and improve their sustainability management, performance, and processes.

SAS has witnessed and implemented this operational value. In their experience, the AA1000AS v3 “provides value to an organization by making sure that they are focused on their most material impacts, that they have a plan in place to manage those impacts, and that they are not only providing balanced reporting, but that they are using the data to drive internal value." 

In doing so, organizational sustainability reporting readiness improves. ISOS Group highlighted that organizations that pursue a voluntary assurance of the sustainability information disclosed are better positioned to respond to future reporting requirements as they establish and build the practices and controls needed to disclose data credibly.

VirentAssure added that this matters more than ever in the US landscape, where ESG claims can create legal, reputational, and investor risk. Building this evidence earlier is therefore a form of risk management as much as it is regulatory preparation.

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Key Takeaways

A common theme from AccountAbility’s discussions with our Licensed Assurance Providers is that the fragmentation of the US sustainability landscape is structural and likely to remain as such. Organizations in the US must manage voluntary frameworks, emerging regulations, state specific differences, stakeholder (including investor) expectations, industry-specific requirements, and more – often several at once.

Complexity of this kind increases the value of consistency. Sustainability assurance offers a standardized approach for verifying the accuracy and reliability of reported information, whatever combination of requirements an organization is subject to.

VirentAssure summarized the point, noting that the “AA1000AS v3 helps companies demonstrate they’re using an internationally recognized sustainability assurance approach even when local rules are inconsistent”. ISOS Group explained why this holds, highlighting that the Standard can be “applied regardless of which sustainability reporting standards or frameworks an organization is reporting against."  

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AccountAbility’s Expert Insight    

From our experience and conversations with our Licensed Assurance Providers in the US, the message is clear: as assurance demand rises in the US, the AA1000AS v3 provides a globally recognized framework that allows organizations to validate the information they are reporting alongside the processes and controls they have to do so.

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Interested in Learning More?

If you want your sustainability information assured, you can contact our licensed assurance providers listed here.

If you want help in building readiness for sustainability reporting and assurance, AccountAbility’s Advisory team can support your organization with assessing reporting and readiness, adhering to global frameworks and standards, preparing for assurance, and more. Further information can be found here.

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