Sustainability is a fast-moving subject area, with lots of acronyms and new standards to remember. By reading our cheat sheet, you’ll know IASB from ISSB and ISAE from ISSA.
Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD)
Introduced by the European Union in 2024, the CSRD requires large companies to report detailed sustainability information. It not only applies to companies in EU countries, but also non-EU companies with a significant EU presence.
Read ICAEW’s CSRD explainer here.
European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG) and European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS)
EFRAG is a private association created in 2001 with responsibility for advising the European Union on corporate reporting. The CSRD expanded EFRAG’s remit to develop European Sustainability Reporting Standards. The first set of ESRS were adopted in 2023.
Read ICAEW’s explainer of ESRS here.
Environmental, social and governance (ESG)
ESG is an umbrella term to explain how an organisation impacts people and the planet. There are a multitude of ESG measures and criteria that help stakeholders assess the performance of organisations. ESG is often confused with sustainability but it has a much wider remit, such as modern slavery.
Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)
The GRI is an independent organisation that has developed sustainability guidelines and standards since 1999. GRI standards are entirely voluntary but more than 14,000 companies across the globe now use them, including 78% of the world’s largest companies.
International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS)
IASB and IFRS are acronyms familiar to all accountants. The IASB issues IFRS, which are mandated by more than 140 countries across the globe. IFRS have provided a common language of accounting for companies, supporting investment and business activity globally.
Visit ICAEW’s IFRS Accounting Standards hub.
International Standard on Assurance Engagements (ISAE) and International Standard on Sustainability Assurance (ISSA)
You’ll need to be aware of ISSA 5000: General Requirements for Sustainability Assurance Engagements. This replaces ISAE 3000 and provides more detailed guidance for sustainability-related engagements. ISSA 5000 has been designed to work across all sustainability frameworks. It has not yet been adopted in the UK but this is expected in the near future.
Read the ICAEW Insights article on ISSA 5000 here.
International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB)
The ISSB was created as the sister organisation to the IASB in 2021. By issuing sustainability standards, its goal is to establish a global baseline for sustainability reporting. Its first standards, known as IFRS S1 and S2, were issued in 2023 and are expected to be endorsed by the UK in early 2025.
Read ICAEW’s ISSB and IFRS S1 and S2 explainer here.
Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR)
SECR was introduced by the UK in 2019. It requires large companies to report on carbon and energy use. UK quoted companies must report on their global emissions, not just locally.
Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD)
The TCFD was created by the Financial Stability Board in 2015 and issued its final recommendations two years later. These recommendations were used as the basis of the Companies (Strategic Report) (Climate-related Financial Disclosure) Regulations 2022, which applies to large private companies in the UK.
Read ICAEW’s TCFD explainer here.
Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD)
Similar to the TCFD, the TNFD was launched in 2021 to improve and harmonise disclosures around nature. It published its final recommendations in 2023. By late 2024, more than 500 organisations across the globe had pledged to follow the TNFD recommendations.
Read ICAEW’s introduction to the TNFD here.
Now you know the A-Z of sustainability, listen to the ICAEW Student Insights podcast Easy as ESG: your introduction to sustainability to learn how the role of the accountant is changing.
