International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) part of IFRS

The Trustees of the IFRS Foundation announced the formation of the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) on 3 November 2021 at COP26 in Glasgow, following strong market demand for its establishment. The ISSB is developing—in the public interest—standards that will result in a high-quality, comprehensive global baseline of sustainability disclosures focused on the needs of investors and the financial markets.

Sustainability factors are becoming a mainstream part of investment decision-making. There are increasing calls for companies to provide high-quality, globally comparable information on sustainability-related risks and opportunities, as indicated by feedback from many consultations with market participants.

There is also a strong desire to address a fragmented landscape of voluntary, sustainability-related standards and requirements that add cost, complexity and risk to both companies and investors.

The ISSB has international support with its work to develop sustainability disclosure standards backed by the G7, the G20, the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO), the Financial Stability Board, African Finance Ministers and Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors from more than 40 jurisdictions.

The ISSB has set out four key objectives:

1. to develop standards for a global baseline of sustainability disclosures;
2. to meet the information needs of investors;
3. to enable companies to provide comprehensive sustainability information to global capital markets; and
4. to facilitate interoperability with disclosures that are jurisdiction-specific and/or aimed at broader stakeholder groups.

The ISSB builds on the work of market-led investor-focused reporting initiatives, including the Climate Disclosure Standards Board (CDSB), the Task Force for Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), the Value Reporting Foundation’s Integrated Reporting Framework and industry-based SASB Standards, as well as the World Economic Forum’s Stakeholder Capitalism Metrics.

The ISSB is committed to delivering standards that are cost-effective, decision-useful and market informed.

• The standards are developed with efficiency in mind, helping companies to report what is needed globally to investors across markets globally.
• The standards are designed to provide the right information, in the right way, to support investor decision-making and facilitate international comparability to attract capital.
• A company can avoid double-reporting by applying the ISSB’s standards. When jurisdictional requirements build on the global baseline, companies are able to meet jurisdictional requirements while benefiting from the efficiency and comparability of the global baseline.

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