The IFRS Foundation and the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) announced today that they are expanding their collaboration to enhance the interoperability of their respective sustainability reporting standards.
This announcement builds on their initial 2022 collaboration agreement, which aimed to ensure the compatibility and interconnectedness of sustainability-related disclosures. The goal was to reduce the reporting burden on companies dealing with multiple standards and to harmonize international sustainability reporting systems.
The IFRS Foundation’s International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB), established in November 2021 during the COP26 climate conference, aims to create IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards that provide investors with information about companies’ sustainability risks and opportunities. The IFRS released its first general sustainability (IFRS S1) and climate (IFRS S2) reporting standards in June 2023. In July, IOSCO urged regulators to incorporate these standards into their sustainability reporting frameworks.
The ISSB recently announced plans for new projects to research corporate disclosure on sustainability risks and opportunities in areas like biodiversity, ecosystems, and human capital to inform future sustainability reporting standards.
GRI Sustainability Reporting Standards are widely accepted for consistent sustainability reporting across companies and industries. These standards facilitate clear communication about sustainability to various stakeholders, including investors. GRI updated its standards significantly in 2021 and recently introduced a new biodiversity reporting standard for companies to disclose their significant biodiversity impacts and management practices. The Global Sustainability Standards Board (GSSB) develops the GRI’s standards.
The IFRS Foundation and GRI aim to create a seamless, global, and comprehensive sustainability reporting system to meet the information needs of both investors and a broader range of stakeholders.
Under the new agreement, the ISSB and GSSB will work together to identify and align common disclosures, starting with a pilot methodology based on the GRI’s new biodiversity standard and the ISSB’s project on Biodiversity, Ecosystems, and Ecosystem Services.
Despite the collaboration, both organizations will continue to make independent decisions and focus on their specific objectives: the ISSB will cater to investors’ information needs, while the GSSB will address the needs of a wider range of stakeholders.
