Phatsimo Moroeng, Kudzai Matiashe
Abstract
With an emphasis on their disclosure policies regarding climate change, this study evaluated the preparedness of South African metropolitan municipalities to adopt the proposed IPSASB Sustainability Reporting Standard based on the Exposure Draft 1 (SRS ED 1) that was issued for public comments. The study looked at the 2023–2024 annual reports of all eight metropolitan municipalities using qualitative content analysis to assess how closely they adhere to the disclosure requirements outlined in SRS ED 1. The standard’s fundamental reporting requirements were extracted and synthesised into a checklist with 20 disclosure items. These items are distributed across four key pillars: governance (6 items), strategy (5 items), risk and outcome management (3 items), and metrics and targets (6 items). Each municipality’s annual report was reviewed and compared against the checklist to identify the presence or absence of each disclosure item. The frequency distribution of each disclosure item across the eight municipalities was recorded and summarised, highlighting the most and least commonly reported elements. The findings reveal varied levels of disclosure, with several municipalities demonstrating partial alignment, while others lack meaningful engagement with climate-related reporting. These results suggest that although some foundational practices are in place, South African metropolitan municipalities face significant challenges in achieving full compliance with international sustainability reporting standards. The study contributes to understanding the implementation challenges of global climate disclosure frameworks in developing public sector contexts.