𝗔 𝗴𝗹𝗼𝗯𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝗲𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗘𝗦𝗚 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗹𝗼𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗱. 

It will be known as the IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards (https://www.ifrs.org/issued-standards/ifrs-sustainability-standards-navigator/).

The Standards will be managed by the International Sustainability Standards Board, but they are the intellectual property of the IFRS Foundation, and will sit alongside the IFRS International Accounting Standards. 

The G7 Finance Ministers have already endorsed them (when the draft standards were released). The UK financial regulator has already said these standards will form the core of its 'Sustainable Disclosure Regulation', and several of the largest accountancy firms are already building assurance practices around these standards.

So whilst some prefer the broader GRI Standards, and the EU wants to advance its EFRAG Sustainability Reporting Standards, we think it is clear that the battle to become the global benchmark has now been won by ISSB.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗜𝗙𝗥𝗦 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘀 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲?

Well, they are not really new; 

➡️ The 'IFRS S1 General Requirements for Disclosure of Sustainability-related Financial Information' will apply the SASB Standards that have been in the market for many years. 

➡️ The only addition will be the 'IFRS S2 Climate-related disclosures', based on the FSB Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) recommendations.

𝗦𝗼 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿 𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀? 💭

We at Integrum ESG are delighted, because our sustainability assessments, for every company we cover, are explicitly based on the SASB Standards, which we have officially licensed for over 3 years.

We chose this framework because it was sector-specific, narrow and deep. It drills into the ESG risks that are material for a company, rather than apply a very broad set of universal metrics, many of which are not relevant to the company in question, and therefore a distraction.  

So when we receive questions asking 'will you be adapting your framework to accommodate the IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards?' we can only respond:

'𝗡𝗼 - 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁'𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗳𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆.'

Want to share your thoughts? Email us via contact@integrumesg.com or fill in this form HERE to book in a demonstration on our own approach to ESG analysis.