The International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) is in the final stages of determining the technical content for the first two Sustainability Standards, set to launch towards the end of June 2023.

Considered a short turnaround in industry terms, these standards will become effective for reporting periods starting on, or after, 1 January 2024, with an expectation that the first corporate reports aligned with these frameworks will be issued in 2025.

The initial disclosure standards will be:

IFRS S1: General Requirements for Disclosure of Sustainability-related Financial Information

• Relevant to corporates globally, across all sectors. Outlined as the “core baseline” of sustainability reporting, which will attempt to unify disclosures on factors such as waste and emissions.
• The standard will clearly set out how companies can integrate reporting, linking sustainability-related and financial information.
• In addition, IFRS S1 will outline plans for companies to disclose all material sustainability-related risks and opportunities.

IFRS S2: Climate-related Disclosures

• This standard will be more detailed regarding specific topics – particularly climate mitigation and climate adaptation.
• It is designed to build on existing disclosure frameworks in this field, specifically the Taskforce on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD).

The short period between the release of these standards and their date of implementation is a demonstration of a powerful response to the strong demand from global investors for consistent, comprehensive and transparent information.

Leading up to the release of the ISSB Standards, the ISSB will focus on developing additional guidance and training materials to support the application of IFRS S1 and IFRS S2. They will also introduce programs to aid reporting entities in appropriately and consistently implementing these standards, as market infrastructure and capacity for dealing with both standards are established.

How Simply Sustainable can help?

Effective disclosure and performance reporting are vital to improve your scoring on ESG ratings and in increasing investor confidence. Investors want to understand how ESG fits into the company strategy and how material topics are managed. At the same time, they may expect the business to align its reporting with key disclosure frameworks such as GRI, SASB and TCFD as well as the impending ISSB disclosures.

Simply Sustainable has worked with large companies on their reporting and disclosures for over 13 years.

We ensure that your reporting is geared towards the interests of your investors and that it aligns with key disclosure frameworks so that they have the necessary information to make decisions about your business.

If you would like more information on how we can help you with your reporting and materiality assessments, please contact us or request a call back.

Author: Ed Packshaw, Head of Reporting and Communications