Glossary›AASB S2 disclosure requirements / AASB S2 mechanics›Metrics and targets (AASB S2)
Glossary term
Cluster C · C16
Tier 1
Metrics and targets (AASB S2)
Definition
The metrics and targets disclosures under AASB S2 cover the numbers: Scope 1, Scope 2 and Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions, any internal carbon price, the proportion of remuneration linked to climate considerations, and any climate-related targets the entity has set together with progress against them. Industry-based metrics are deleted in the Australian text.
On this page
In practice
Two points are frequently misread.
The standard does not require an entity to set a target. It requires disclosure of targets the entity has set, including those required by law or regulation. An entity with no emissions target discloses that position rather than inventing one.
Emissions must be disclosed by scope, in absolute gross terms, measured in accordance with the GHG Protocol Corporate Standard unless another method is required. Scope 2 requires disclosure on a location-based measure, with additional information about contractual instruments where relevant.
What the assurer does with it
Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions are inside the limited assurance scope from the first reporting year under ASSA 5010 paragraph 10(a)(iii); the rest of the pillar follows from the second year when the review extends to all disclosures.
The assurer tests these as numbers. They trace a sample of figures from the disclosure back through the calculation to source documents, check the emission factor set and its edition, and reconcile the reporting boundary to the entity’s own records. They accept a figure with a complete trail from source document to disclosure, a named and dated factor set, and a stated measurement method. They reject a hardcoded figure with no calculation behind it, a factor with no cited version, a target disclosed with no board approval, and a Scope 3 omission presented as a nil figure rather than as a disclosed relief.
Commonly confused with
Industry-based metrics, which IFRS S2 requires and which AASB S2 deletes. The quantitative requirement in the Australian text is the seven cross-industry metrics at paragraph 29, and there is no sector-specific set sitting alongside them.
Timing and relief
Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions are subject to limited assurance from the first reporting year. Scope 3 emissions carry a first-year relief under AASB S2 Appendix C paragraph C4(b) and come within assurance scope from the second reporting year. Under paragraph C5 an entity that took the C4(b) relief may continue to rely on it when presenting the relieved period as comparative information in later periods.
Sources
1
2
ASSA 5010 Timeline for Audits and Reviews of Information in Sustainability Reports under the Corporations Act 2001
AUASB
3
4
Review status
Review required
Last reviewed
15 September 2026
Editorial pass, unsigned
Reviewer required
Registered company auditor
Next scheduled review
1 July 2027
Part of
Cluster C, AASB S2 disclosure requirements / AASB S2 mechanics
25 terms on what the climate disclosure standard actually requires, pillar by pillar, plus the reliefs and the effort standard.
Related terms
Direct emissions, assured from the first reporting year
Purchased energy emissions, on the mandated location-based measure
Value chain emissions, relieved in year one and required from year two
Related questions
Do we have to report Scope 3 in year one?
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No. AASB S2 gives first-time reporters relief from disclosing Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions in their first annual reporting period, and Scope 3 is required from the second year. Taking the relief in year one is normal, but the supplier data work needs to start in year one anyway.
What evidence do we need for each emissions number?
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Every reported number needs a source document you did not create for the report, the activity data drawn from it, the emission factor and its published edition, and the calculation joining them. Fleet fuel needs litres from fuel card statements, electricity needs kWh by site from retailer invoices with the matching state factor, and refrigerants need kilograms by gas type from service records.
Where do Australian emission factors come from?
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The National Greenhouse Accounts Factors, published each year by the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water. They give Scope 1 factors by fuel and Scope 2 electricity factors by state and territory. NGER-registered corporations must use NGER measurement methods for their NGER reporting.
Other terms in this cluster
Metrics and targets (AASB S2)