IFRS Foundation: September roadmap to sustainability standard
The International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) Foundation Trustees have announced their intention to produce a definitive proposal for global sustainability standards, including a roadmap with timeline, by the end of September 2021 – and the compass may point straight to the establishment of an international Sustainability Standards Board (SSB) along similar lines to the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB).
Following last year’s consultation on sustainability reporting, the Trustees of the IFRS Foundation met on 1 February to review responses to the first three questions asked: on the demand for global standards, whether the Foundation should play a role, and, if so, the requirements for success.
“The responses indicate growing and urgent demand to improve the global consistency and comparability in sustainability reporting, as well as strong recognition that urgent steps need to be taken and broad demand for the IFRS Foundation to play a role in this,” they report.
The Trustees’ next step – as they reconvene on 2-4 March – will be a detailed analysis of the feedback on requirements for success, and any other conditions to be satisfied, before they consider whether to establish a new Board. They have agreed to form a Trustee Steering Committee to oversee this work.
The Foundation’s September plan for a definitive proposal reflects the keen appetite it has uncovered for a shared global standard. Looking ahead, it anticipates that this may also lead to the creation of the SSB being announced at the United Nations Climate Change Conference COP26 in November. One thing is for certain: 2021 will see concerted efforts and major developments when it comes to sustainability standards.
