INTEGRATED MODEL FOR IMPLEMENTING SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT REPORTING

Abstract

This article presents an integrated operating model for sustainability reporting that reconciles the expanding ESRS scope with the managerial reality of complex organizations. The paper details a staged implementation that connects strategic alignment, control architecture, and data governance, and documents acceptance criteria and evidence at each stage. It treats reporting not as a document but as an internal, governable process that creates information value and supports independent assurance. Strategic alignment is achieved through a 7S-TBL-ESRS mapping that links McKinsey’s elements to the Triple Bottom Line and ESRS blocks, translating principles into objectives, KPIs, policies and disclosures. Acceptance criteria include a board-approved Risk Appetite Statement (RAS) with thresholds and triggers, ESG objectives embedded in budgeting and incentives, and a completed mapping with explicit owners and MCS/SCS/IMS processes, evidenced by protocols, plans, expert opinions and IMS data, validation and change logs. Unity of data and control is delivered by a triune architecture: MCS allocates decision rights and escalation, SCS monitors indicators against RAS thresholds, and IMS standardizes sources and metadata, maintains quality logs and lineage, and preserves an auditable trail. Thresholds τᵢ are wired to SCS monitoring and MCS procedures so deviations automatically trigger predefined actions and timelines, turning risk appetite into an operational control surface. The model addresses organizational fragility and manual reporting defects through maturity-based scaling and an assurance-by-design information perimeter that secures access, logging and third-party interaction, lowering the transaction cost of assurance. As a result, the architecture and alignment matrix produce reproducible, decision-useful disclosures and stable reporting cycles.