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“Several important points are noteworthy in the current version of the standard, which is still a work in progress. The first is the obvious gap in the narrative rhetoric in the document in the part where it describes why the standard is needed, what it offers, what it includes, etc., and in what specific actions and indicators are ultimately proposed,” says Natalia Gladkikh.

Thus, according to her, the first part actively uses terminology from the field of impact assessment, for example:

“Information related to sustainable development is understood as information about the impacts, risks, and opportunities of the organization associated with sustainable development”;

“The usefulness of information related to sustainable development increases if the information is comparable, verifiable, timely, and understandable, and also sufficient to reflect the significant impact on the economy, environment, and social sphere and to give interested parties the opportunity to assess the organization’s performance (the principle of completeness) for the reporting period.”

“However, within the block of indicators, there is nothing that could be attributed to social impact. Indicators are principally defined by various metrics of activity – such as the number of employees involved and the amount of funds expended. The actual impact of these activities remains conspicuously absent from this list,” the expert remarks.

A second significant flaw she notes is the underlying logic of describing and assessing results, the principle of ‘the more spent, the better’.” According to the standard’s logic, a company’s substantial investments in social objectives imply it is doing well, yet there is no comment on the actual effectiveness of these investments. The specific changes that have occurred in the region or country as a result of such expenditures are not considered relevant. If a more economical solution is identified, the current logic of the standard would interpret this as the company’s deteriorating position relative to others.