LONDON - AccountAbility and International Register of Certified Auditors (IRCA) are delighted to announce, jointly, the launch of the world's first individual certification scheme in the field of sustainability assurance - "The Certified Sustainability Assurance Practitioner Program".

There is an increasing need for assurance of non-financial and financial information as part of an organization's performance against sustainable development commitments, policies and strategies. This is relevant to secure internal quality, and to provide credible information to interested stakeholders externally. This is important to those stakeholders concerned with specific social and environmental aspects of an organisation's performance. It will also be of interest to those concerned with the impact of non-financial risks, which can affect financial performance and valuations.

Commenting on this important step in sustainability assurance, Maria Sillanpää, Managing Director of AccountAbility, said, "the challenge in delivering effective practitioner certification in this field is considerable and the development of this first iteration of the program has been informed by an extensive multi-stakeholder consultation process. What we have delivered is the first version, created to enable structure dialogue: from this foundation we anticipate that the program will continuously develop as a result of stakeholder feedback and our own experiences in running the program."

Simon Feary, Director of IRCA, added: "this program represents an exciting new activity for IRCA. We are pleased that we can contribute our experience in personnel certification to support the developing field of sustainability assurance." AccountAbility developed the AA1000 Assurance Standard to provide a credible foundation for sustainability assurance, combining the best from both traditional auditing methodologies and leading edge practice in stakeholder engagement and indicator development. Since its launch in early 2003, it has underpinned the external assurance of a growing number of sustainability reports, as well as being used internally for quality assurance. It is increasingly used in conjunction with related standards such as the GRI Sustainability Reporting Guidelines and the ISAE3000 non-financial assurance guidelines provided by the International Assurance and Auditing Standards Board. This is a positive sign of standards convergence.

There remains a gap, however, in standards governing the emerging profession of sustainability assurance practitioners. There is growing confusion as to what experience is relevant and how best to judge individual competence, often as part of assurance teams. As a result, the growth of sustainability assurance has been constrained, with corresponding damage to quality and credibility.

Recognising this gap, AccountAbility and IRCA believe that the program, based on an AA1000 platform, will be successful as they have brought together their respective expertise in the fields of sustainability assurance and individual certification to develop this international program for practitioners. The program is intended for practitioners both internal and external to an organization whose performance is being assured, including but not restricted to those explicitly using the AA1000 AS.

This program is has been developed for individuals, however, it is understood that effective sustainability assurance often requires multi-disciplinary teams as a result of individual and wider organizational competencies.

It is anticipated that the program will be subject to an ongoing multi-stakeholder dialogue facilitated by workshops and an online forum (www.accountability.org.uk) and will be reviewed one year from its implementation.

To find out more about the program, to download the certification criteria, to download the application forms or to provide your feedback, please go to www.irca.org or www.accountability.org.uk.

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AccountAbility is an international, not-for-profit, professional institute for business, non-governmental organizations, public sector organizations and individuals committed to enhancing the performance of organizations and to developing the competencies of individuals working in social and ethical accountability and sustainable development. AccountAbility is dedicated to promoting accountability for sustainable development and enhancing the performance of organizations and developing the competencies of individuals in social and ethical accountability and sustainable development by:

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AccountAbility is a global consulting and standards firm that works with businesses, investors, governments, and multi-lateral organizations to achieve opportunities, advance responsible business practices, and transform their long-term performance. We focus on delivering practical, effective, and enduring results that enable our clients to succeed.

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