The introduction of the new Australian Sustainability Reporting Standards (ASRS), AASB S2, is no longer hypothetical, it is here. Group 1 reporting entities - larger businesses with over $500 million in revenue, more than 500 employees, or those that report under the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting (NGER) scheme - are now preparing to meet the disclosure requirements as of this year.
For organisations operating on a July-June financial year, this means data collection began on 1 July 2025, and, with the Group 2 reporting entities following only a year later, the pressure is on to ensure disclosure readiness.
So, what does readiness actually look like in practice? And what are some real-life insights from this process to help other companies that are preparing for the new reporting requirements?
In this article, we share some key lessons from our recent work supporting Abergeldie Complex Infrastructure (Abergeldie) in preparing for AASB S2 reporting.
Abergeldie ASRS Disclosure Readiness, Project Overview
In 2024, WolfPeak partnered with Abergeldie, a leading infrastructure contractor, to support their proactive preparation for mandatory climate disclosure under ASRS. As a Group 1 reporting entity, Abergeldie required a clear understanding of their obligations under AASB S2. Our work involved a readiness assessment and gap analysis, as well as facilitating climate risk and opportunity workshops to support scenario analysis and risk disclosure requirements.
You have probably come across this statement in ASRS readiness articles: “It’s more than just a compliance exercise” - but is it true?
From our experience in supporting clients with AASB S2 preparation, we can confirm - it absolutely is. While a quick fix might be tempting, the requirements are prescriptive and all-encompassing, extending well beyond sustainability and environment departments.
During our work with Abergeldie, we recognised that key requirements of AASB S2 need a whole-of-business mindset. Conducting risk and opportunity assessments and climate scenario analysis that is meaningful requires people from across the organisation. Success depends on engaging the right people across the business and bringing them along on the disclosure journey.
Our team’s climate risk and opportunity workshops brought together people from finance, procurement, operations, and project delivery. Together, they uncovered real risks to the organisation and designed practical treatments to inform disclosure reporting and, more importantly, to help build organisational resilience.
AASB S2 asks for transparency about who in your business is accountable for climate-related issues and risks. This is a new area for many businesses and requires strategic thinking. Climate accountability is often siloed within sustainability teams, but extending this to executive leadership and the board is an opportunity to embed climate-related risk thinking into core business decisions. Formalising a committee around AASB S2 and climate risks can clarify who in your organisation oversees and owns each part of the climate disclosure process and helps meet AASB S2’s expectations for accountability.
Many organisations haven’t yet defined clear ownership of climate-related responsibilities across the business - leaving sustainability teams to carry the load alone. The common misconception that climate risk belongs solely to the sustainability department is being directly challenged by the new disclosure standards - and for good reason. Climate-related risks can have immense material financial impacts across an organisation, from asset devaluation and supply chain disruption to insurance costs, investor confidence, reputation and capital access.
During the climate risk and opportunity workshops we held for Abergeldie, we brought together senior representatives from across the business, including finance, operations, and procurement. This cross-functional engagement not only informed the risk analysis but also helped clarify who within the organisation was best placed to take ownership of different aspects of climate governance moving forward.
Want to explore how these steps might apply to your business?
Talk to our team about your ASRS readiness roadmap.
AASB S2 includes both mandatory disclosure requirements and recommended guidance. It’s easy to assume that every part of the standard must be met in full, which can quickly become overwhelming. Understanding what is required versus what is encouraged enables businesses to focus their time and resources where they are most needed.
In our work with Abergeldie, we mapped compliance through interviews with key teams and document review, against the relevant clauses of AASB S2, and highlighted which disclosures were required, and which were good practice but not essential. This clarity helped streamline their efforts, avoid analysis paralysis, and reduce pressure on internal teams by setting realistic expectations.
Turning readiness into resilience
The shift to mandatory climate reporting is often framed as a regulatory burden, but it is much more than that. By implementing adequate processes and adaptation measures, organisations can mitigate the financial implications of poorly managed climate risks.
Being honest about your organisation’s journey and how you plan to improve overtime is key and will be valued by regulators, such as the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) and stakeholders. Few organisations will get it perfect in their first report – this was considered when rolling out the phased assurance process. This approach acknowledges the complexity of climate reporting and gives entities time to build up the systems, controls, and data quality needed for assurance.
For businesses willing to lean in, ASRS readiness can become a catalyst for smarter decision-making, cross-functional collaboration, and long-term resilience. It challenges outdated governance structures, surfaces blind spots in risk frameworks, and, if done well, reveals opportunities to lower your carbon footprint and better your organisation’s environmental impact.
Our work with Abergeldie showed that the disclosure process isn’t just about reporting what you know - it’s about uncovering what you don’t.
The most progress didn’t come from spreadsheets alone, but from putting the right people in the room, dividing the work across key people, asking the right questions and being transparent about what still needs work. That’s where the value is, not just in ticking off a checklist, but in making your organisation more future-fit.
Shaping resilient outcomes, not just reports
Our experience working with organisations at the corporate level, as well as on-the-ground delivering projects, means we understand your business’ operations, supply chains and how risk and opportunities can manifest in different areas
Unlike many environmental consultancies, we’re structured to tackle climate disclosure from all angles. Our sustainability, risk, and audit experts work along specialists in biodiversity, infrastructure, geospatial analysis, and environmental planning. This breadth means we don’t just understand compliance - we understand the ecosystems, assets, and pressures that drive it.
Whether you need to map your Scope 1-3 emissions, integrate climate risk into project delivery, or develop a clear scenario analysis, we bring the technical depth and strategic lens to support you.
We work across disciplines to help clients move from compliance to resilience - combining technical depth with real-world experience.
We work across disciplines to help clients move from compliance to resilience - combining technical depth with real-world experience.