3.3.3.2 Assurance

In the Netherlands, assurance of sustainability reports is voluntary. Although companies are required since 1999, to disclose environmental information about their business activities, in compliance with the Environmental Code, the audit of the information disclosed is not mandatory.1 The European Commission has developed the Eco-Management and Audit Scheme in 1995, in which on a voluntary basis EU companies and other organizations may evaluate, report and improve their environmental performance.2 Through Regulation (EC) No 1221/ 2009 the European Commission allows voluntary participation by organizations in the Eco-Management and Audit Scheme.3

Sustainability reports voluntarily published by Dutch companies are also not required to be externally assured. These reports disclose information in accordance with international frameworks as the CDP (former Carbon Disclosure Project), the Global Reporting Initiative, the International Integrated Reporting Council and the UN Global Compact. In the Netherlands, the Royal Dutch Institute for Register Accountants (Royal NIVRA, currently NBA), which was the Dutch national body providing guidance for accountants, issued an assurance standard for sustainability reports in 2007, the 3410N – “Assurance engagements relating to sustainability reports”. The Dutch Assurance Standard 3410N is based on ISAE 3000 and in line with the AA1000AS principles, and it is focused on sustainability reporting. The 3410N standard provides guidance to the auditor both when the objective is to obtain reasonable assurance of the sustainability report (an audit engagement) and for when the objective is to obtain limited assurance (a review engagement) of the sustainability report.4 The objective of an assurance engagement relating to a sustainability report is the examination of the information in the report by the auditor to determine whether it meets the relevant reporting criteria and that it is not misleading.5 The auditor’s objective is to be able “to form a reasonable basis for his conclusion that the sustainability report provides a reliable and adequate presentation of the reporting organization’s policy for sustainable development, as well as the activities, events and performance of the organization relating to sustainable development in a reporting period.”6