The IFRS Foundation and the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) have announced an expanded collaboration aimed at optimizing how their respective sustainability reporting standards can be used together. The goal is to reduce the reporting burden on companies that meet multiple standards and help harmonize sustainability reporting systems internationally, reports esgtoday.com.
The IFRS Foundation's International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) was launched in November 2021 at the COP26 climate conference, with the aim of developing IFRS sustainability disclosure standards to provide investors with information about companies' sustainability risks and opportunities.
IFRS released the inaugural Common Standards for Sustainability (IFRS S1) and Climate (IFRS S2) reporting in June 2023, and in July IOSCO, the leading international policy forum and standard-setter for securities regulators, called on regulators to include the standards in its reporting frameworks.
Corporate disclosure of risks and opportunities in key areas
The ISSB recently announced plans to launch new projects exploring corporate disclosure of risks and opportunities in key areas related to sustainability, including biodiversity, ecosystems and ecosystem services, and human capital, aimed at informing its work on future standard-setting for reporting sustainability.
The GRI Sustainability Reporting Standards are one of the most widely adopted global sustainability reporting standards by companies, developed to enable consistent reporting across companies and industries, providing clearer communication on sustainability issues to a wide range of stakeholders, including investors.
GRI published a major update to the standards in 2021 and recently published a new biodiversity reporting standard, aiming to enable companies to publicly disclose their most significant impacts on biodiversity and how they are managed. The GRI standards were developed by the Global Sustainability Standards Board (GSSB).
A comprehensive sustainability reporting system
The expanded collaboration between IFRS and GRI aims to "provide a seamless, global and comprehensive sustainability reporting system for companies looking to meet the information needs of both investors and a wider range of stakeholders".
Under the new agreement, the organizations said the ISSB and GSSB will work together to identify and align common disclosures, with the initial pilot methodology based on the new GRI Biodiversity Standard and the recently announced ISSB Project on Biodiversity, Ecosystems and Ecosystem Services.
“The next stage, starting with biodiversity, creates momentum towards a fully harmonized global standard system. We believe that reporting and stakeholders, including investors, will welcome this step,” commented Carol Adams, Chair of the GSSB.
The organizations added that they will continue to make decisions separately and each will continue to focus on their respective objectives, with the ISSB targeting the informational needs of investors and the GSSB focused on the needs of a broad range of stakeholders.
“ISSB's focus continues to be on meeting the information needs of the capital markets. Through this collaboration, companies wishing to apply the ISSB and GRI standards to facilitate reporting to a wider range of stakeholders will be able to do so in a seamless manner. I thank the GRI and the GSSB for their continued partnership," said ISSB President Emmanuel Faber.