Brazil asks whether voluntary ISSB reporting is working
Brazil’s securities regulator, the Comissão de Valores Mobiliários (CVM), is seeking evidence on its now-voluntary International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) reporting regime. Submissions close on 28 February 2027.
The call sets out several hypotheses. These raise the questions of whether a voluntary regime can deliver enough coverage, comparability and credibility, whether the reports mainly benefit institutional and foreign investors, and whether smaller companies bear a heavier cost burden. The CVM also asks whether its own successive rule changes have cost companies money and made the rules less predictable. Options range from keeping the current system to phased mandatory reporting.
Resolution CVM 193 made Brazil the first country to commit to the ISSB standards, with mandatory reporting due from 2026, until the CVM stepped back on that in May of this year. Voluntary reporters must still apply the standards in full, obtain reasonable assurance and commit for three years, conditions the CVM is testing as possible deterrents.
The investors that the CVM is interested in are likely to be comparing disclosures across markets, which tagging with the IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Taxonomy makes practical at scale. For data usability and portability, respondents might argue that that format matters as much as mandate.
Read more here (in Portuguese).
