The findings suggest that many organisations are still navigating the fundamentals of sustainability management and reporting, with surveyed companies identifying complex reporting requirements, ESG data challenges, capability gaps, competing priorities, and resistance to change among the key barriers to progress.

Building readiness for sustainability-related financial disclosures is a complex organisational challenge. Organisations are starting from different levels of maturity, but successful implementation of PFRS S1 and S2 requires more than the efforts of a sustainability team alone. Success depends on active leadership support and coordinated action across strategy, risk, finance, operations, and data functions to embed effective governance and reporting practices. While the final report is the visible outcome, the real work lies in embedding sustainability-related considerations throughout the organisation as a means of creating long-term business value.

“Sustainability reporting is not only about submitting a report to the SEC” — Atty. Rachel Gumtang-Remalante, Director, SEC Corporate Governance and Finance Department

These themes were evident during Anthesis Philippines’ executive briefing, Preparing for PFRS S1 and S2: Practical Steps for Implementation. Through participant surveys, live polls, audience questions and speaker insights, the session highlighted that many organisations are navigating a common set of implementation priorities and obstacles as they prepare for sustainability-related financial disclosures.

The key takeaway was that PFRS S1 and S2 readiness does not need to be achieved all at once. By focusing on clear priorities and taking a phased approach, organisations can build capability and momentum over time.

What companies preparing for PFRS reporting are experiencing

Prior to the webinar, participants were asked about their organisations’ readiness priorities, barriers, and implementation needs for PFRS S1 and S2. Consistent with the findings of the ECOP study, many identified data quality and availability, a stronger understanding of PFRS S1 and S2 requirements, and cross-functional alignment as key priority areas. Participants also indicated a need to build internal capabilities, establish clear implementation plans, and translate sustainability commitments into practical actions across the organisation.

The webinar polls further reinforced these findings. Most respondents indicated that their organisations were still building their readiness for PFRS S1 and S2. Responses also pointed to the need to further strengthen internal capabilities, particularly in the areas of climate risk assessment, sustainability data and reporting systems, staff capability, and cross-functional coordination.

Drawing on insights from the ECOP study, participant surveys, webinar polls, audience questions, and speaker experiences, Anthesis identified five recurring themes shaping organisations’ PFRS S1 and S2 readiness journeys. These themes reflect the common priorities and focus areas that organisations are navigating as they prepare for sustainability-related financial disclosures, as well as practical actions that can help move organisations from planning to implementation.

Five PFRS readiness themes and practical actions for implementation

1. Building reliable sustainability data and reporting systems

Data quality and availability emerged as a key focus area for many organisations. In many cases, the difficulty is not a lack of information, but rather how that information is managed. Relevant data exists across different functions, files, and systems, and varying definitions and calculation methodologies can affect consistency and comparability. Bringing these multiple data sources together in a way that is complete, reliable, and decision-useful remains a significant undertaking.

What experience shows: Ayala Corporation’s Sustainability Partnerships and Reporting Lead, Paolo Monteiro, offered a reassuring perspective: organisations may be surprised by how much information they already have. “Data does indeed improve over time.” In Ayala’s experience, the real challenge has been building alignment around what information is needed, why it matters, and who is accountable for collecting, validating and reviewing it.

Over 18 years, Ayala has evolved its reporting cycle into a disciplined process underpinned by common templates, rigorous reviews, group-level oversight, and independent assurance. Reflecting on this journey, Paolo added, “We are by no means perfect, but we try to make little steps every single day.”

A practical way forward: Start by identifying the most important information needed for reporting and assessing what is already available across the organisation. For each item, record its source, definition, calculation methodology, owner, reviewer and supporting records. A practice reporting cycle can reveal gaps early and allow data quality to improve over time.

2. Turning reporting requirements into an action plan

Many companies understand the broad direction of PFRS S1 and S2 but remain uncertain about where to begin. This is understandable, given that organisations approach implementation from different starting points in terms of reporting maturity, data availability and readiness.

What experience shows: SEC Director Atty. Rachel Gumtang-Remalante described the Philippines’ earlier sustainability reporting requirements as the beginning of the journey, rather than the destination. Gregor Theinschnack, a Principal Consultant at Anthesis and an IFRS Level 2 certified practitioner, emphasised that taking stock is the most effective place to start — conducting an early gap analysis and developing a roadmap to address identified gaps.

A practical way forward: Turn the standards into a practical roadmap for understanding, managing, and disclosing the ESG issues that matter most. Use the results of the gap assessment to identify what can be retained, what needs improvement and what needs to be developed. Organise the gaps by importance, effort, owner and timing.

3. Translating climate risks into business and financial effects

Identifying climate-related risks is often the easier part. Flooding, typhoons, and extreme heat are familiar realities for many businesses in the Philippines. The more difficult task is translating these risks into business impacts, including their potential implications for operations, assets, costs, and future growth.

What experience shows: Michael Salvatico, APAC Climate & Nature Director at Anthesis, explained that climate risk assessments should support informed decision-making. Among 148 Philippine-listed companies Anthesis reviewed (market cap of at least PHP 3 billion), 55 (37%) disclosed some form of climate risk assessment or scenario analysis, while only 16 reported quantified potential financial effects.

A practical way forward: Avoid trying to quantify every risk at once. Start with a small number of the most material risks and opportunities, using available operational and financial information, and be transparent about assumptions.

4. Building shared ownership for sustainability reporting

Sustainability-related financial disclosures are rarely owned by a single team or individual. While sustainability teams often drive and coordinate reporting efforts, the information required typically resides across Finance, Risk, Strategy, Operations, HR, and business units.

What experience shows: Michael noted that PFRS S1 and S2 give finance, risk, and senior leaders a greater role because sustainability-related information needs to connect to financial and strategic decision-making. Paolo echoed this, describing Ayala’s governance structure — from its Board Sustainability Committee and Sustainability Council to its wider practitioner community.

A practical way forward: Treat reporting as a business-wide project, with the Board and Senior Leadership setting the tone. Assign a reporting lead and establish clear ownership for each disclosure, dataset, calculation, review, and approval.

5. Strengthening internal capability for effective reporting

Limited capacity, technical knowledge, time, and resources emerged as common concerns. Closing capability and resource gaps does not necessarily require large specialist teams — targeted training can help data owners become familiar with the disclosure requirements.

As Michael explained, “The bigger challenge is having people across the organisation who understand what information is required, why it matters, and how it connects to financial decision-making.”

A practical way forward: Identify the skills needed for each role and provide focused training supported by practical templates and exercises. Use external specialists strategically to supplement internal capability and transfer knowledge over time.

Disclosure reporting offers opportunity beyond compliance

The discussions throughout the session made one thing clear: preparing for PFRS S1 and S2 is not a simple task. It requires time, effort, investment, and coordination across the business.

Yet the experiences shared by speakers and participants also reinforced that it is achievable. While meeting regulatory requirements is necessary, the real value lies in the insights gained along the way — supporting better decision-making, strengthening resilience, improving stakeholder communication, and helping identify new sources of long-term value.

With that in mind, the following readiness checklist provides a starting point to help organisations assess their current state of readiness and identify priorities for implementation.

PFRS S1 and S2 readiness checklist

• Assess current reporting, data and controls against PFRS S1 and S2.
• Prioritise the most important risks, opportunities and critical gaps.
• Assign a reporting lead, disclosure owners, data owners, reviewers and approvers.
• Connect Sustainability with Finance, Risk, Strategy, Operations and Internal Audit early in the process.
• Strengthen data definitions, methodologies, records, controls and reporting timelines.
• Build internal capability through focused training, practical tools and repeated reporting cycles.
• Plan implementation in stages, including practice runs, management review and continuous improvement.
• Consult external specialists where focused expertise or an independent perspective can help accelerate progress.

How Anthesis can support you in preparing for PFRS

As globally recognized sustainability and climate experts with strong regional expertise in APAC, we leverage years of experience in regulatory frameworks like ISSB, ESRS, and CSRD to help organizations manage climate risks and capitalize on emerging opportunities.

Navigating these complex requirements for the first time can be daunting; however, our team provides the technical depth and implementation experience necessary to move beyond simple compliance. Reach out to our experts via the form below.