Having a verified reporting system can meet the needs of all kinds of stakeholders, from investors, regulatory bodies, company boards, employees, customers, and others. But what is verification and how does the verification process work?
Sustainability reporting is usually cyclical, most often done manually. It is up to the reporting organization to define its reporting cycle. Verification of reporting systems is used to demonstrate compliance to the requirements defined in the DNV Verification Protocol for Sustainability Reporting.
Our verification process usually consists of five phases. However, depending on the time constraints and scale of the verification project, these steps may be merged during the verification process.
DNV GL's verification process begins by defining the verification scope. This is something our lead auditor does together with you.
After the scope has been agreed upon, we perform a general desk-study assessment. This serves as the basis for a detailed plan for the verification.
Usually a combination of head office and site level verification is necessary. They can be carried out in parallel, and the findings at the head office level may trigger investigations at the site level or vice versa.
Nearing completion, we present our findings in a detailed verification report to senior management. In the verification report, our lead auditor may identify opportunities for improvement as well as strengths of the existing practices during the verification process. This information is valuable for your organization in order to plan for and continually improve your processes.
The verification report is treated as a confidential document between your organization and DNV as the verifier.
The main output from the verification process is an assurance statement. It reflects the findings from the assessment. The assurance statement is intended for disclosure in the public domain. We recommended that the assurance statement is included in your organization's sustainability report. However, it is up to you to decide how and where to disclose the assurance statement.
Stakeholders can be engaged at any stage of the process described above, subject to agreement with the reporting organization.
At various stages of the verification processes, the verifier should at its own discretion be able to consult or visit stakeholders to obtain information deemed necessary to clarify any unclear or crucial issues related to the verification activities being performed. However, there has to be a clear agreement on this between the verifier and the reporting organization prior to the verification process.