ISSB disclosures will increasingly inform on environmental impact, says IOSCO Chair
We were interested to read some recent perspectives from Ashley Alder, Chair of the International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO). Speaking at the GSG Impact Summit Series 2022, he suggested that, while the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) is focussed on enterprise value and how this is affected by environmental risk, its proposed standards for climate reporting will also provide more insight into companies’ environmental impacts as these become more financially material. “As the disclosure of impact becomes more relevant to a whole range of stakeholders, it will increasingly interact with measurements which inform enterprise value,” stated Alder.
“The ISSB is focusing on information that is most relevant to the providers of capital – in other words, investors. This clearly correlates with the disclosure interests of regulators.” Although the concentration on enterprise value is often contrasted with the double-materiality approach favoured by jurisdictions such as the EU, “my view is that the difference is more apparent than real.”
Alder also discussed the challenges of regulating reporting on social impact – the ‘S’ in ESG, or environmental, social and governance matters. “It’s a really complex issue. While climate-focused measurement tools take a science-based approach, much of the social agenda hinges on values. On an international stage, these values will differ and could result in widely variable approaches,” said Alder, observing that regulators are currently hyper-focussed on climate and lack bandwidth for other concerns.
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