ICAI Issues Exposure Draft of SSA 5000 on Sustainability Assurance Engagements

1. Introduction

The development of a robust assurance framework assumes critical importance to ensure credibility, transparency, and comparability of sustainability disclosures. In line with these developments, the Sustainability Reporting Standards Board (SRSB) of The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) has issued an Exposure Draft on “Standard on Sustainability Assurance (SSA 5000), General Requirements for Sustainability Assurance Engagements. Public comments and suggestions on the Exposure Draft are invited by 19th June 2026.

The proposed SSA 5000 seeks to establish general principles and requirements applicable to sustainability assurance engagements and represents a significant step towards strengthening India’s sustainability assurance ecosystem.

2. Objective of SSA 5000

The proposed SSA 5000 addresses assurance engagements related to sustainability information. The Exposure Draft explains that sustainability information refers to information concerning sustainability matters, which may include diverse topics such as climate change, biodiversity, labour practices, environmental impact, social responsibility, governance-related matters, and associated risks and opportunities.

The Exposure Draft recognises that sustainability-related disclosures may cover different aspects of these topics, including metrics, targets, key performance indicators, and risk-related information. It further acknowledges that laws, regulations, and sustainability reporting frameworks may describe sustainability matters differently and may prescribe specific guidance for identifying and reporting sustainability information.

The proposed Standard also clarifies that sustainability information is prepared and reported in accordance with specified criteria. In this regard, SSA 5000 requires the assurance practitioner to evaluate whether the criteria expected to be applied in preparing sustainability information are suitable under the circumstances of the engagement.

The Exposure Draft further provides that criteria embodied in law or regulation or established by recognised organisations following transparent due process would ordinarily be presumed to be suitable criteria for the purpose of sustainability assurance engagements.

3. Entity’s Process for Identifying Sustainability Information

An important feature of the proposed SSA 5000 is its focus on the process adopted by entities for identifying sustainability matters to be reported. The Exposure Draft explains that criteria may specify a process through which the entity identifies sustainability matters, determines materiality, and establishes the reporting boundary for sustainability information.

In this context, the Standard refers to the “entity’s process to identify sustainability information to be reported” as the process followed by the entity to determine the sustainability matters that require reporting and the extent of reporting coverage.

This aspect assumes significance because sustainability reporting often involves management judgment, evolving reporting practices, and assessment of material sustainability-related risks and opportunities affecting the entity.

4. Scope of Sustainability Assurance Engagements

The proposed SSA 5000 also clarifies that the scope of a sustainability assurance engagement may either extend to the entire sustainability information reported by an entity or only a specific portion of such information.

Accordingly, the Standard requires the practitioner to clearly identify or describe the information that is subject to assurance. This requirement is particularly important in sustainability reporting engagements because entities may obtain assurance only on selected sustainability metrics, disclosures, or subject matters during the initial stages of sustainability reporting implementation.

The clarification regarding engagement scope is expected to improve transparency and avoid ambiguity for intended users of assurance reports.