How the SASB Standards support ISSB disclosure

Are the SASB Standards relevant globally?

Yes. The SASB Standards are used in over 2,800 companies in more than 70 jurisdictions around the world, including 72% of the S&P Global 1200 Index, because industry-based sustainability disclosures are cost-efficient for companies and decision-useful for investors. Businesses worldwide use SASB Standards to better identify, manage and communicate the material information about sustainability-related risks and opportunities they face.

Furthermore, the IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards being developed by the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) to form the global baseline for sustainability-related disclosures build upon the SASB Standards and the TCFD Recommendations. Through IFRS S1 General Requirements for Disclosure of Sustainability-related Financial Information, the ISSB requires companies to consider the SASB Standards, in the absence of specific IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards, to identify sustainability-related risks, opportunities and related information.

The ISSB is enhancing the international applicability of the SASB Standards—a targeted project to ensure any companies can use them to advance their disclosure under IFRS S1, regardless of where they are based or their operating footprint—and continuing the SASB Standards projects it inherited from the SASB Standards Board. In other words, the ISSB is not just building upon and preserving the SASB Standards, it is updating and improving them.

Companies that apply the SASB Standards now will find they are an efficient solution for disclosing sustainability information and a solid foundation for adopting IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards.

Why should I continue to use the SASB Standards? How long will they be supported?

Whether you are planning to adopt the ISSB Standards early or in 2024¹, adopting or continuing to use the SASB Standards will help you because:

• IFRS S1 General Requirements for Disclosure of Sustainability-related Financial Information (S1) requires companies to consider the SASB Standards, knowing that those 77 industry-based disclosure standards provide investors with comparable, decision-useful information.
• SASB Standards, now part of the IFRS Foundation materials, will continue to be supported on a standalone basis by the ISSB for at least 4 years and realistically probably longer, with ISSB Standards that build on the SASB industry-based standards to follow.

The ISSB actively encourages preparers and investors to continue to provide full support for and to use the SASB Standards. They will be maintained and enhanced, through rigorous due process, under the ISSB throughout their continued existence.

The SASB Standards as well as all SASB Standards implementation tools and resources, now part of the IFRS Foundation, are still accessible via sasb.org.

¹ The first two ISSB Standards are effective for reporting periods beginning on or after January 1, 2024. Early adoption is permitted but must be disclosed. Various transition reliefs are available, including the ability for an entity to report on only climate-related risks and opportunities (as set out in IFRS S2) in the first year it applies IFRS S1 and IFRS S2.

What happened to open SASB Standards projects after the Value Reporting Foundation's consolidation into the IFRS Foundation?

All open SASB Standards projects were transitioned to the ISSB as of August 1, 2022, when the Value Reporting Foundation consolidated into the IFRS Foundation. The SASB Standards Board’s recommended changes were passed to the ISSB for further deliberation and will be subject to the IFRS Foundation’s due process.

Work is expected to continue on these projects, although public consultation on the ISSB's future agenda priorities will inform their detailed delivery plan.

Additionally, the ISSB will enhance the international applicability of the SASB Standards. In other words, the ISSB is not just preserving the SASB Standards, it is updating and improving them to provide a solid footing when companies use them when applying the new IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards. As part of that process, a group of ISSB members—chaired by Jeff Hales, former Chair of the SASB Standards Board—has been established and tasked with developing recommendations for the ISSB related to the maintenance, evolution and enhancement of the SASB Standards. The group will develop drafts of the required exposure drafts of amendments to the SASB Standards and, after considering the stakeholder feedback, drafts of the final amendments. The ISSB as a full board will consider the recommendations of this group in ISSB meetings (which are public) and ratify the exposure drafts and, subsequently the final amendments prepared by the group. The comment period for the exposure drafts will be the same as for those related to IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards.

Stay up to date on the ISSB’s work plan, decisions and projects by subscribing to receive sustainability alerts via the IFRS Foundation’s notifications dashboard.

How are the SASB Standards incorporated into the ISSB's General Requirements and Climate-related Disclosures Standards?

Industry-based disclosures are cost-efficient for companies and useful for investors. Using industry-based disclosure topics and metrics in the SASB Standards enables companies to address a range of sustainability-related risks and opportunities.

IFRS S1 General Requirements for Disclosure of Sustainability-related Financial Information provides the basis for achieving a truly global baseline of sustainability disclosure that meets investor needs. You can think of it as an outline: the overarching standard that applies to all sustainability-related risks and opportunities but does not specify what those risks and opportunities are.

To help companies identify their sustainability-related risks and opportunities and provide appropriate disclosures using IFRS S1, companies are required to consider the industry-based SASB Standards for topics beyond climate.

IFRS S2 Climate-related Disclosures provides the details for how to meet investor needs for climate disclosures. It is based on the TCFD Recommendations with industry-specific climate metrics based on the SASB Standards.

To help companies determine which climate metrics to disclose, IFRS S2 includes industry-specific metrics derived from the SASB Standards as accompanying guidance.

How can I provide feedback on, contribute to, or ask questions about ISSB exposure drafts?

First, thank you for your interest in engaging with and supporting the ISSB as it works toward delivering a global baseline of sustainability disclosure standards. Your engagement, including 1,400+ responses on the General Requirements (IFRS S1) and Climate (IFRS S2) Exposure Drafts, has contributed to the quality and speed of the ISSB’s work to date and will continue to be important to their work going forward.

The ISSB issued its first two Standards (IFRS S1 and IFRS S2) in June 2023. For notices of upcoming consultation periods, please subscribe to receive sustainability alerts via the IFRS Foundation’s notifications dashboard. See the ISSB Update for preliminary decisions of the ISSB. See the ISSB FAQs for more information about the ISSB and its work. Other questions and feedback for the ISSB can be submitted via the contact form on the ISSB’s webpage.

Does the IFRS Foundation offer a sustainability-related education credential?

The FSA Credential continues to be offered under the IFRS Foundation following the consolidation of the Value Reporting Foundation into the IFRS Foundation in August 2022. The transition of the SASB Standards and Integrated Reporting Framework to the IFRS Foundation and ISSB increases the global relevance and the value of the FSA Credential.

For addition questions, see the FSA Credential FAQ.

Does the IFRS Foundation offer a membership program similar to the SASB Alliance?

The SASB Alliance merged with the <IR> Business Network to form the IFRS Sustainability Alliance—a global community for sustainability standards and integrated reporting. Members of the IFRS Sustainability Alliance share a belief in the benefits of a coherent and comprehensive system for corporate disclosure and a more integrated approach to the way organizations plan and disclose their approach to value creation. Visit the IFRS Sustainability Alliance website for more information.