Raksha Hydro Ltd, a power generation company appointed Kunal, Company Secretary, as its Compliance Officer. Company's management requested Kunal to revisit various legal and regulatory compliances, both mandatory and rec

Raksha Hydro Ltd, a power generation company appointed Kunal, Company Secretary, as its Compliance Officer. Company's management requested Kunal to revisit various legal and regulatory compliances, both mandatory and recommendatory for the Company and prepare a detailed report with issues/concerns and recommendations. Kunal performed an elaborate review of the documents/filings and also spoke to his friends and colleagues in the industry. He furnished a detailed report to the management stating the Company was largely compliant with applicable laws and regulations. However, he suggested that the management should consider getting a Sustainability Audit done for the Company. He went on to explain that sustainable development is a relatively new concept and gained momentum in the late 1980s. In 2010, UN described business sustainability as 'Conducting operation in a manner that meets existing needs, without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs and has regard to the impacts that the business operations have on the life of the community in which it operates and includes environmental, social and governance issues.' Reporting on sustainability paved the way for emergence of sustainability audit. The concept of sustainability audit has evolved over the years as society's understanding of sustainability has expanded and as organizations have become increasingly aware of their impact on the environment and society besides their bottom-line. The wave of financial mishaps in the early 2000s, the 2007-2009 global financial crisis, and subsequent regulatory responses have stimulated considerable interest in business sustainability, corporate governance, ethical, and corporate accountability. Businesses and professional organizations worldwide have also responded by developing a business sustainability framework consisting of five overriding dimensions of economic, governance, social, ethical, and environmental performance as an improvement over the 'People, Planet and Profits' agenda. Management thanked Kunal for his efforts and asked him to take up the project of getting a sustainability audit done for the Company. In background of the above, answer the following: Explain the structured framework of sustainability audit.