What is the ISSA 5000 standard
The ISSA 5000 standard is the international standard for attesting and verifying sustainability reporting, published byIAASB (International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board).
It was created with the aim of providing a global and autonomous framework for the verification of environmental, social and governance information (ESG), guaranteeing reliability, quality and credibility.
The standard applies both to the assignments of Reasonable assurance Both to those of Limited assurance: the first offers a higher level of guarantee because it involves more in-depth checks and more extensive procedures, while the second provides a lower level of guarantee based on less pervasive verification activities.
In addition, the ISSA 5000 defines clear requirements in terms of the quality of the process, ethics, independence and professional competence of the person in charge of the verification. In this way, the standard helps to make sustainability reporting more solid and comparable, increasing the confidence of investors, stakeholders and the market.
ISSA 5000 requires that the materiality of the information of sustainability is evaluated in accordance with the adopted reporting criteria. When these criteria are based on double materiality, assurance considers both the impacts of ESG issues on the company and those of the company on the environment and society. In this way, the standard contributes to strengthening credibility and transparency of sustainability reporting, reducing the risk of incomplete or misleading information.
What are the objectives of the ISSA 5000 standard
The ISSA 5000 standard was created to respond to an increasingly felt need at an international level: to have a solid, timely and shared assurance standard that supports the quality and reliability of sustainability information.
Its main objective is to ensure that ESG verification tasks are carried out in a manner consistent, professional and oriented to the public interest.
In particular, the ISSA 5000 aims to:
- support consistent performance of assurance assignments, raising the quality level of sustainability reporting;
- cover all sustainability topics, including environmental, social and governance information, as well as risks, opportunities and aspects related to the value chain;
- respond to the information needs of stakeholders, ensuring that the verified contents are relevant and useful for the recipients of the report;
- provide a standard that auditing professionals can adopt, in line with the transposition paths provided by the Member States of the European Union.
Another key objective of the standard is to propose itself as global and autonomous standard baseline for sustainability assurance assignments. The ISSA 5000 is in fact framework-neutral: can be applied regardless of the reporting standard adopted by the organization, such as ESRS, GRI Standards, IFRS S1 and S2 or criteria developed internally by the company.
The standard is also designed to be scalable and flexible, so as to adapt:
- to organizations of different sizes;
- to tasks that concern individual metrics or theWhole set of sustainability information.
ISSA 5000 will become the reference for assurance assignments on sustainability information relating to periods starting from December 15, 2026. However, the standard can be applied even before that date: the assurance professional can in fact choose to adopt ISSA 5000 in advance for tasks carried out on sustainability information referring to previous periods, such as the 2025 or 2026 sustainability reports.
What topics does the ISSA 5000 standard cover
The ISSA 5000 standard defines a wide and structured scope for assurance tasks on sustainability reporting, including both methodological aspects and technical content. In particular, it covers positions of Reasonable assurance And say Limited assurance, providing for differentiated requirements and procedures based on the level of guarantee required.
The standard also accompanies thefull cycle of the assurance assignment, from the initial phase to the conclusion and reporting: acceptance and continuity of the assignment, planning, execution of checks, formulation of conclusions and preparation of the final report. The scope may also extend to business groups and, when relevant, to information concerning the value chain.
Among the main issues addressed by the ISSA 5000 are:
- I professional requirements related to quality management (in line with systems such as ISQM 1) and membership in ethical standards and of independence (like those ofIESBA);
- The materiality, including the double materiality where applicable;
- The risk assessment significant errors or misleading statements in sustainability information;
- obtaining sufficient and appropriate evidence (quantitative and qualitative) to support assurance conclusions;
- the analysis of contents that may be particularly complex, such as information Forecasts and the elements related to governance, strategy, risks and opportunities related to ESG issues.
Overall, the ISSA 5000 serves as a reference for verifying in a consistent and transparent manner all information on corporate sustainability, strengthening the reliability of ESG reports and the trust of stakeholders.
The 5 benefits for companies that comply with the ISSA 5000 standard
The adoption of ISSA 5000 standard brings with it a series of significant benefits for organizations, for professionals involved in assurance tasks and, more generally, for the market and stakeholders. In a context in which sustainability reporting assumes an increasingly strategic role, the standard helps to strengthen it quality, credibility and consistency. Let's see in detail what the main benefits are.
1. Greater credibility of sustainability information
The ISSA 5000 reinforces the reliability of ESG data and statements, increasing the confidence of stakeholders (investors, customers, institutions and communities) in the information published. A more structured and rigorous assurance process also helps to combat greenwashing, reducing the risk of communications not supported by adequate evidence.
2. Global consistency and comparability
Thanks to its role as a global standard and reference, the ISSA 5000 promotes greater harmonization of assurance practices in the field of sustainability. This reduces the fragmentation of approaches, making ESG reports more consistent and comparable across organizations, sectors and countries.
3. Strengthening the quality of assurance assignments
Compared to previous standards, such as ISAE 3000, ISSA 5000 introduces more precise and stringent prescriptions. This involves raising the level of quality of the tasks, thanks to clearer requirements in terms of planning, risk assessment, evidence collection and reporting.
4. Greater commitment and maturity of the system
The increase in prescriptions also implies greater operational commitments for the persons in charge and for the organizations subject to verification. However, this additional effort represents a key step towards more mature, structured and credible sustainability reporting, in line with regulatory and market expectations.
5. Better integration between sustainability reporting and business processes
The application of the ISSA 5000 encourages organizations to strengthen their internal processes for collecting, managing and controlling ESG data, promoting greater integration between sustainability, governance and business strategy. This helps not only to improve the quality of reporting, but also to making sustainability information a more effective decision-making tool for management.
When does the ISSA 5000 come into effect
The ISSA 5000 standard is part of the wider European and national regulatory framework on sustainability reporting and on the assurance of ESG information. Its application, in practice, follows the evolution of the obligations provided for by CSRD and from the relative Italian transposition through Legislative Decree 125/2024.
That said, at European level, an update of the regulatory framework is underway through the Omnibus package: the European Council recently approved the reformulation of the Omnibus I package, which includes, among other measures, temporary delay of certain CSRD obligations for subsequent waves of reporting, as well as a review of the dimensional criteria for defining the scope of application.
In other words, to understand when it becomes necessary to align (even on the assurance side) with standards such as the ISSA 5000, it is not enough to look exclusively at the calendar provided for by the Italian decree: it will be just as essential monitor the evolution of the Omnibus package and any updates that will result from it (including referrals and changes to the scope of application).
