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Guidance Report

Navigating Sustainability

Reporting Frameworks:
A Comprehensive Guide

Originally Published August 31, 2022

Updated March 31, 2025

As expectations to report sustainability data have intensified, myriad sustainability reporting frameworks have been developed to guide organizations' reporting of their sustainability-related impacts, performance, risks, opportunities, and strategies. While all frameworks demand some form of sustainability or ESG data, they vary widely in reporting methodology, disclosure content, target audience, and level of industry adoption. This Guidance Report aims to provide clarity on the current sustainability reporting landscape by identifying, describing, and categorizing the key reporting frameworks and offering insight into why, how, and when they should be applied. Given the Verdani Institute for the Built Environment’s (VIBE) focus on built environment sustainability, the frameworks covered are most relevant for the commercial real estate industry, yet this information is also intended to be useful for most U.S.-based companies.​

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Our 2025 update covers important framework consolidations of the past three years (e.g., ISSB) and includes updated fee information, timelines, and industry insights based on the current sustainability reporting landscape.

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41 sustainability reporting frameworks reviewed

 

 

This Guidance Report organizes 41 frameworks into five categories:

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  • standards and guidance frameworks

  • voluntary disclosure frameworks

  • involuntary third-party aggregators

  • net zero emissions initiatives

  • regulatory frameworks

 

For each category, we provide tables that allow for easy interpretation of the frameworks’ similarities and differences, offering companies, investors, and regulators a comprehensive guide to disclosures and their applications.

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This guidance report was created by a dedicated team of non-profit professionals as well as  members of VIBE's volunteer program. Your generous donation today helps make this critical work possible.

CREDITS
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Author: Carli Schoenleber, Content and Engagement Specialist, VIBE and Verdani Partners

 

Research and Editing: Reagan Redd, Research Assistant, VIBE, and Darian Gore, Research Assistant, VIBE

 

Editor: Bennett Rea, VIBE

 

Content Advisors: Daniele Horton, Chika Acholonu, Zach Brown, Shubha Maheshwari, Ying (Paris) Mo

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Project Management: Julie Jacobson, Verdani Partners

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Graphic Designers: Art Ace Samson, Jackie Royds and Cassandra Taylor, Verdani Partners, and Luciana Aguiar de Aquino Manhães, Lead Graphic Designer, VIBE

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Volunteers: Elletta Callahan, Nolan De Jesus, Shawn Hoffman, Maria Caneja,
Ansar Mohammed, Jennifer Newfield, and
Isabella Milles

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Full credits in report


Sponsors: Verdani Partners and GID

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VIBE is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization committed to a built environment that is decarbonized, resilient, and lives in harmony with nature.

© 2017-2024 Verdani Institute for the Built Environment (VIBE). Tax ID: 81-4747572.

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