Economic Taxonomy

1. Purpose

This section defines the Economic Disclosure Intent (CDI) taxonomy for economic sustainability disclosures within Canonical ESG.

The Economic taxonomy captures the semantic meaning of commonly requested information relating to:

  • economic performance,
  • value creation and distribution,
  • financial interaction with sustainability impacts,
  • market presence,
  • indirect economic impacts,
  • procurement practices,
  • public policy contributions,
  • anti-competitive conduct.

The taxonomy:

  • is framework-agnostic,
  • does not prescribe economic reporting obligations,
  • does not embed accounting standards,
  • does not assert financial materiality,
  • does not encode regulatory interpretation,
  • is intended for reuse across frameworks via Canonical Mapping Packs (CMPs).

Economic CDIs describe economic structure, flows, exposure, and impact, not financial statement compliance.

2. Taxonomy Structure

Economic disclosure intents are grouped into the following logical domains:

  1. Economic Performance & Value Distribution
  2. Financial Interaction with Sustainability
  3. Market Presence & Local Economic Effects
  4. Indirect Economic Impacts
  5. Procurement & Supply Chain Economics
  6. Public Policy & Economic Transparency
  7. Anti-Competitive Behaviour
  8. Economic Methodology & Scope

Each disclosure intent:

  • has a unique identifier,
  • represents a single semantic concept,
  • may be quantitative, narrative, or hybrid,
  • remains independent of accounting frameworks,
  • may reference canonical elements (Metric, Boundary, Time Period, etc.).

3. Economic Disclosure Intents

3.1 Economic Performance & Value Distribution

CDI-ECON-01
Total economic value generated

The total economic value generated by the organisation within a defined time period.

CDI-ECON-02
Total economic value distributed

The total economic value distributed to stakeholders.

CDI-ECON-03
Breakdown of economic value distribution

The allocation of distributed economic value across stakeholder categories (e.g., employees, providers of capital, governments, communities).

CDI-ECON-04
Retained economic value

The portion of generated economic value retained within the organisation.

CDI-ECON-05
Revenue by geography or market

Revenue distribution across geographic or market segments.

3.2 Financial Interaction with Sustainability

Structurally supports ESRS SBM-3 and IRO-3 as well as ISSB financial materiality logic.

CDI-ECON-06
Financial effects of sustainability risks

The financial implications associated with identified sustainability-related risks.

CDI-ECON-07
Financial effects of sustainability opportunities

The financial implications associated with sustainability-related opportunities.

CDI-ECON-08
Capital allocation toward sustainability

Financial resources allocated to sustainability-related initiatives.

CDI-ECON-09
Sustainability-related investments

Investments directed toward mitigation, adaptation, or impact management.

CDI-ECON-10
Expected future financial exposure

Anticipated financial exposure related to sustainability matters over defined time horizons.

CDI-ECON-11
Interaction between sustainability impacts and financial performance

The relationship between sustainability impacts and organisational financial position or performance.

3.3 Market Presence & Local Economic Effects

CDI-ECON-12
Market presence by region

Description of organisational economic presence in key markets.

CDI-ECON-13
Local hiring practices

Policies or practices regarding hiring from local communities.

CDI-ECON-14
Infrastructure investments and services

Investments in infrastructure or services supporting local economic development.

CDI-ECON-15
Economic contributions to local communities

Financial or in-kind contributions supporting local economic resilience.

3.4 Indirect Economic Impacts

CDI-ECON-16
Indirect economic impacts identified

Description of significant indirect economic impacts arising from organisational activities.

CDI-ECON-17
Extent of indirect economic impacts

Quantification or estimation of indirect economic effects where available.

CDI-ECON-18
Economic dependency relationships

Dependencies between the organisation and regional or sectoral economic systems.

3.5 Procurement & Supply Chain Economics

CDI-ECON-19
Procurement spending distribution

Distribution of procurement expenditures across geographic or supplier categories.

CDI-ECON-20
Local supplier engagement

Policies or practices encouraging local sourcing.

CDI-ECON-21
Supplier economic impact assessment

Evaluation of economic impacts within the supply chain.

3.6 Public Policy & Economic Transparency

CDI-ECON-22
Tax strategy disclosure

Disclosure of organisational tax approach or principles.

CDI-ECON-23
Taxes paid by jurisdiction

Taxes paid across jurisdictions within a reporting period.

CDI-ECON-24
Government financial assistance received

Financial assistance received from public authorities.

CDI-ECON-25
Public policy contributions

Contributions made to public policy processes or institutions.

3.7 Anti-Competitive Behaviour

CDI-ECON-26
Legal actions for anti-competitive conduct

Legal proceedings related to anti-competitive behaviour.

CDI-ECON-27
Monetary value of fines or sanctions

Financial penalties imposed for anti-competitive conduct.

3.8 Economic Methodology & Scope

CDI-ECON-28
Economic reporting boundary

Organisational boundary applied to economic disclosures.

CDI-ECON-29
Methodology for economic calculations

Methodologies used to calculate economic value, distribution, or impact.

CDI-ECON-30
Changes in economic methodology or scope

Changes in calculation methods, assumptions, or reporting scope over time.

4. Taxonomy Characteristics

Economic CDIs are independent of financial accounting standards.

CDIs do not embed IFRS, GAAP, or ESRS logic.

CDIs do not assert financial materiality.

CDIs do not encode regulatory thresholds.

Each CDI may map to multiple frameworks via CMPs.

Deprecated CDIs remain referenceable for historical disclosures.

5. Structural Alignment Capability

This Economic Taxonomy enables structural mapping to:

  • GRI 200 series
  • ESRS financial interaction disclosures
  • ISSB financial materiality architecture
  • Jurisdiction-level economic reporting requirements

without embedding regulatory semantics into CDI.

6. Summary

The CDI Economic Taxonomy defines a stable semantic vocabulary for modelling economic sustainability disclosures.

By separating economic structure and financial interaction from regulatory interpretation and accounting standards, the taxonomy enables:

  • full GRI coverage
  • ESRS structural completeness
  • ISSB financial materiality compatibility
  • global cross-framework reuse
  • jurisdictional alignment without semantic drift

Version: v1.0.0
Status: Frozen
Effective Version: CDI v1

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