The International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) has published its Feedback Statement following its consultation on agenda priorities. It has outlined the activities that form part of its two-year work plan. The announcement confirms some of the key outcomes from the agenda priorities project:

• Supporting the implementation of IFRS S1 General Requirements for Disclosure of Sustainability-related Financial Information and IFRS S2 Climate-related Disclosures will be given the highest priority.
• Enhancing industry-specific Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) standards and beginning new research and standard-setting projects will be given a slightly lower level of focus.
• Core activities, including ensuring connectivity with the work of the IASB, stakeholder engagement and ensuring interoperability will not be assigned a specific level of focus, but remain integral to all of the ISSB’s work.

The ISSB has decided, in line with feedback received, that implementation of IFRS S1 and IFRS S2 by companies in jurisdictions around the world should be its main priority between 2024 and 2026. This, it says, is essential to creating a global baseline of sustainability-related financial disclosures. As part of this activity, the ISSB will look to:

• develop and enhance educational materials that explain the core concepts underpinning IFRS S1 and IFRS S2;
• convene the Transition Implementation Group to discuss companies’ questions related to implementing IFRS S1 and IFRS S2;
• monitor the progress of relevant standard-setters and framework providers to assess potential implications for IFRS S1 and IFRS S2;
• support the IFRS Foundation’s comprehensive capacity-building programme; and
• support companies in using the IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Taxonomy to enhance efficient digital consumption and comparison of reports.

The ISSB has also announced new and enhanced strategic relationships as a means to implement its work plan activities. Developments to its strategic relationships include those with the Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHG Protocol), the Carbon Disclosure Project, the Global Reporting Initiative, the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures and, most notably, the UK-based Transition Plan Taskforce (TPT).

The IFRS Foundation has announced that it will assume responsibility for the disclosure-specific materials developed by the TPT and TPT disclosure-specific materials will soon be part of the IFRS Sustainability Knowledge Hub. It will provide a framework with specific recommendations on what a good practice climate transition plan reporting should cover. 

The IFRS Foundation expects to use the TPT materials to develop educational guidance on providing high-quality, decision-useful information about the plans that companies have, consistent with the focus and application of IFRS S2.

The IFRS Foundation and the GHG Protocol have also signed a memorandum of understanding to put in place governance arrangements, so that the ISSB is actively engaged in updates and decisions made in relation to the GHG Protocol standards and guidance. This is hoped to ensure ongoing compatibility between the work of the two organisations. 

Laura Woods, ICAEW’s Technical Manager, Corporate Reporting, says: “We are pleased to see confirmation of the key outcomes from the agenda priorities project, as well as some of the crucial detail behind how the ISSB plans to take its activities forward. We very much welcome the news that the IFRS Foundation is to assume responsibility for the TPT materials. This will hopefully allow for a more international roll-out of this important and well-considered guidance.”