Issue link: https://resources.tangoanalytics.com/i/1508314
CONVERGENCE OF REPORTING FRAMEWORKS While the sustainability reporting framework landscape remains crowded, complicated, and costly from an efficiency standpoint, there is some good news. The International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) Foundation is working towards the creation of a global baseline set of sustainability reporting standards and the creation of the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB). Their goal is to arrive at the same level of maturity for sustainability reporting as we see in the modern financial reporting system. 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. Established at COP26 in late 2021, the ISSB has developed a comprehensive global baseline of sustainability disclosures for the capital markets; the initial two standards focus on general sustainability disclosure requirements (IFRS S1) and climate-related disclosure (IFRS S2). While ISSB as a standard setter is not mandatory for individual firms to follow, individual jurisdictions and regulators are likely to adopt or otherwise use these standards in their rulemaking. The ISSB's S1 asks for the disclosure of material information about a company's sustainability-related risks and opportunities. It uses the same definition of material that is used in IFRS Accounting Standards. S2 sets out the disclosure of material information about climate-related risks and opportunities, including disclosure about physical risks (such as flood risk), transition risk (such as regulatory change), and climate-related opportunities (such as new technologies). ISSB INTERNATIONAL SUSTAINABILITY STANDARDS BOARD hello How ISSB works with other standards SASB As described in S1, industry- specific disclosures are required by those applying the ISSB's Standards, and companies need to consider the existing SASB Standards to identify topics and metrics to disclose in the absence of a specific ISSB Standard. Using the SASB Standards now will help in the future application of IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards. TCFD: The core structure of the IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards is adopted from the TCFD architecture to solicit information on governance, strategy, risk management and metrics and targets. S1 and S2 fully incorporate the TCFD Recommendations, and so those disclosing against S1 and S2 will meet the TCFD Recommendations. CDSB: CDSB Framework has been incorporated into S1 and S2, and CDSB application guidance on biodiversity-related and water-related disclosures are sources of guidance a company can consider in its disclosures to investors in the absence of a specific ISSB Standard. Integrated Reporting (IR) Framework: The Integrated Reporting Framework's concepts are reflected in S1 to describe the relationship between sustainability and financial value creation. Sustainability & Energy Management Simplified