In May 2023, the International Sustainability Standards Board (the Board or ISSB) published a request for information (RFI) to gather the views of different stakeholders on priorities for a two-year period starting in 2024.
Responses to this RFI will be critical as the information gathered will help the Board to establish a path forward for sustainability standards and will give insight into how respondents think the ISSB agenda should be prioritised and what the next research and standards-issuing areas may be.
The ISSB seeks to issue Standards that address "climate first, but not climate only", so the RFI also seeks to collect information on three research projects on sustainability-related risks and opportunities (associated with biodiversity, ecosystems and ecosystem services, human capital and human rights), and one research project on integration in reporting to explore how to integrate information in financial reporting beyond the requirements related to connected information in IFRS S1 and IFRS S2.
As an auditing firm and reaffirming our commitment to sustainability, at Grant Thornton we have analysed the ISSB requirement and participated through a comment letter. In it, we acknowledge that the Board has identified appropriate criteria to prioritise sustainability-related reporting issues that could be added to its work plan and encourage continued momentum. We also encourage the Board to prioritise interpretation support, particularly for areas that are difficult to apply, and to ensure that appropriate resources are dedicated to interpreting the Standards.
In our letter, we also suggest that the Board consider setting out a roadmap to develop a conceptual framework for sustainability standards to ensure that a more stable baseline is established for any future standards issued by the Board.
