ABSTRACT
G4 does little to elevate the status of assurance or clarify the cloud of fuzziness that surrounds what the author call the Wild West of sustainability reporting assurance, A G4 report, CORE or COMPREHENSIVE, does not require external assurance in order to be 'In Accordance'. G4 brings two changes on the matter of assurance. First, G4-33 now includes a requirement, for those companies including an assurance statement, to report the relationship between the organization and the assurance providers and to report whether the highest governance body or senior executives are involved in seeking assurance for the sustainability report. Second, G4 is a little more helpful because it now requires a company to identify, as part of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Index, exactly which disclosures, both General Standard Disclosures (GSDs) and Specific Standard Disclosures (SSDs), have been externally assured individually.
