The IFRS Foundation has published a guide for the voluntary application of its International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) disclosure standards, supporting companies as they start to apply those and communicate progress to investors. This comes as investors globally call on companies to voluntarily apply the standards to provide them with decision-useful and comparable information in the absence of regulatory requirements. Investors such as BlackRock, Vanguard, Capital Group and Neuberger Berman, in particular, have encouraged the application of the standards through proxy voting guidelines. “As increasing numbers of jurisdictions take steps to introduce sustainability disclosure requirements, the standards serve as a passport for companies to meet requirements globally while providing investors with a global baseline of disclosures,” the IFRS said, stressing that the guide would be a “useful tool” to that effect. The guide is the latest in a series of publications designed to support the implementation of IFRS S1 and IFRS S2 – in tandem with tools such as the European Sustainability Reporting Standards – ISSB Standards Interoperability Guidance. “For sustainability information to support investment decisions, risk management processes and ownership activities across a diversified portfolio, it must be consistent and comparable across companies and over time,” said Carine Smith Ihenacho, Chief Governance and Compliance Officer at Norges Bank Investment Management, and recently appointed ISSB Investor Advisory Group (IIAG) Chair. Speaking at New York Climate Week, ISSB Chair Emmanuel Faber said: “Companies around the world already provide investors with sustainability-related information in response to investor demand. However, they use a patchwork of frameworks and standards to do so, leaving investors unable to compare the performance and prospects of companies … the voluntary application guide helps companies navigate from their current reporting practices to applying ISSB standards, providing a cost-effective route for companies to provide decision-useful, assurable financial information to investors.” The ISSB Investor Advisory Group is comprised of 117 global members from 62 leading asset owner and asset manager organisations, representing more than US$54 trillion in assets.
