CIPC Sets Up Sustainability Reporting Working Group (ARWG)

This article will count 0.25 units (15 minutes) of unverifiable CPD. Remember to log these units under your membership profile.

As announced in Customer Notice 37 of 2026, CIPC established the National Adoption Readiness Working Group on Sustainability Reporting (ARWG), supported by the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (the dtic). This group is set up under section 188 of the Companies Act 71 of 2008, having advisory only functions. It cannot make regulations, it cannot pass legislation, and it does not take over the mandate of any regulator or standard-setter. Its job is to produce one document: a consolidated draft National Adoption Roadmap for the two ISSB standards, IFRS S1 (General Requirements for Disclosure of Sustainability-related Financial Information) and IFRS S2 (Climate-related Disclosures). Whatever policy follows will sit with the dtic's Regulation Branch.

Who is in it

Nine technical clusters do the actual work: Regulatory and Policy (DTIC), Research (ACCA), Global Baseline and Layering of Impact Disclosures (IRCSA), Assurance (IRBA), Bridging and Capacity Building (SAICA), Investors (AlexForbes), Preparers (NBI), Digital Taxonomy (CIPC), and Change Management, Education and Awareness, which has no permanent lead yet. W.Consulting is standing in.

The Steering Committee includes CIPC, the dtic, AGSA, the Accounting Standards Board, FRSC, IRBA, IRCSA, the Prudential Authority, FSCA, the National Business Initiative, the Minerals Council of South Africa, SAICA, PAFA and ACCA. The ISSB and GRI sit as observers. CIBA participating on the Assurance cluster lead by IRBA.

Two of the six objectives matter directly to small practices. One is to assess reporting capacity and skills readiness across sectors. The other is to build agreement on a phased implementation approach. Both of those decisions eventually land on the desk of whoever prepares the financials for a mid-sized client.

Why this reaches your practice

The Minerals Council is at the table for a reason. Once large companies have to report climate data under IFRS S2, they start asking suppliers for numbers: diesel litres, electricity use, waste volumes, transport kilometres. The earthworks contractor on a mining site and the logistics firm hauling for a manufacturer both get a data request they cannot answer from a trial balance. That gap is billable work.

As our earlier piece on what is changing in sustainability reporting set out, the direct effect on smaller firms is still limited. The requests coming down the supply chain will arrive well before the law does.

What to do now

Expressions of interest go to ARWGsecretariat@cipc.co.za. The clusters are open to stakeholders who want to contribute to the draft roadmap.

Note that this is separate from the formal comment process. The dtic will announce an open consultation window through the Government Gazette, covering both the draft National Adoption Roadmap and the draft dtic Policy Framework for Sustainability-related Disclosure Standards.

If you act for clients in mining, manufacturing, agriculture or logistics, send the email. The arguments about capacity and phasing are being made now, before anything is gazetted. And CIPC has shown this year that once a requirement exists, it follows up, as its warning on the annual Compliance Checklist made clear.