What products and services do Trace offer for AASB S2 compliance?

 How Trace supports ASRS compliance

Trace organises the work AASB S2 requires into modular workstreams, so you take on only those you need and handle others internally where you have the capability. You can read more about how our platform and experts work together here.

In discovery, we get to know your organisation: your reporting group and first reporting year, your structure and operations, and the climate work you have already done, such as an emissions inventory, risk register or governance documents. Where helpful, a Readiness Assessment gives a more detailed picture of where you stand against each requirement. [LINK: The Readiness Assessment: what it is and when to do one]

We then prepare a recommended approach based on:

• your reporting timeline
• your organisational maturity
• your risk profile and assurance expectations
• your board and investor scrutiny

Your proposal sets out which workstreams you need, the package we recommend for each, and what your team will do alongside Trace. You stay in control: you can take on more work in house, add support where you need it, and adjust the plan as your reporting matures.

All packages are modular and standardised, which keeps pricing consistent and delivery predictable. Read about our pricing here.

Choosing a package

Packages describe how much of the work Trace does for you, not the level of compliance.

• Self-led: Trace gives you templates, tools, checklists and guidance. Your team does the analysis and writes the outputs. Suits teams with in-house capability, or organisations spreading cost across years.
• Standard: Trace produces deliverables to an audit-ready standard. Your team provides information and makes the key decisions. This is the right starting point for most organisations.
• Advanced: Trace adds more depth, external data and stakeholder engagement, and works through more of the decisions with you. Suits listed companies, highly engaged boards, companies that want to demonstrate best practice climate governance, or organisations whose auditor has already pushed back.

Not every workstream offers all three packages, and you can choose a different package for each workstream.

The Compliance Hub

Every package requires a subscription to the Trace Compliance Hub. This is where your evidence is collected and your audit trail is kept, and it gives you access to Tracey, our AI Sustainability Agent, who can answer your questions about AASB S2 based on your company's context in the platform.

What is included in each workstream

The tables below show what is included in each package in your first reporting year. They give a flavour of the options rather than a full statement of scope, which is confirmed in your proposal. Durations assume your team is available and information is provided on time.

1. Readiness Assessment

An optional check of where you stand against every AASB S2 requirement, with a plan to get ready. Most useful 12 to 24 months before your first reporting year. 

2. Governance Review

A review of your board and management documents against the AASB S2 governance requirements, the part of the disclosure auditors usually test first. 

3. Climate Risk Assessment and Scenario Analysis

Identifies and ranks your climate risks and opportunities, tests them under two climate scenarios, and assesses how resilient your business is. 

This article provides more information about quantifying the financial effects of your climate-related risks. We recommend undertaking risk quantification from Year 2.

4. Transition Planning

Your decarbonisation plan and the transition plan content AASB S2 asks for. This matters most if you have set climate targets or made public climate commitments.

This workstream needs a completed emissions inventory - see 'Emissions Measurement' below. 

5. Emissions Measurement

Emissions measurement is the work of calculating your organisation's greenhouse gas emissions for the reporting year. It covers Scope 1 (direct emissions from sources you own or control, such as fuel and vehicles), Scope 2 (emissions from the electricity you buy) and Scope 3 (emissions in your value chain, such as purchased goods, travel and waste). Read more about the 3 scope here.

AASB S2 requires you to disclose your Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions every year, measured in line with the GHG Protocol. It is one of the few disclosures that is always quantitative, and your auditor will test the data and method behind it. Relief means you do not have to disclose Scope 3 in your first reporting year, so many organisations start with Scope 1 and 2 and add Scope 3 in Year 2.

Trace delivers emissions measurement through a carbon accounting subscription. The platform maps your spend and activity data to emissions categories and reads utility invoices automatically. You can add a measurement support package to get expert review, so your inventory is ready for assurance. 

6. Metrics and Targets

The method and disclosure wording for the climate metrics AASB S2 requires, and for any targets you have. Trace defines the method; your finance team runs the numbers. [LINK: AASB S2 cross-industry metrics: what each requires]

The exposure metrics draw on your climate risk assessment, and target disclosures draw on your transition plan. AASB S2 does not require you to set targets, but if you have them, they must be disclosed.

7. Disclosure Preparation

Turning your analysis into your AASB S2 disclosure. This workstream prepares the report; the content comes from the other workstreams. See also Can Trace write my AASB S2 disclosure for me?

Note: Board approval, the directors' declaration and lodgement remain your responsibility. In Year 2, your prior-year disclosure is updated through the platform, with every change flagged for your review. 

How we support you through assurance

Every package includes time with your auditor, shown in each table above, with more available as an add-on. Across all workstreams, your methods, assumptions and sources are documented in the Compliance Hub as the work happens, so the evidence is ready when assurance begins. 

Year 2 and beyond

AASB S2 applies every year. In Year 2, most workstreams move to a review and refresh of Year 1 rather than starting again, and your team can take on more as its capability grows.