Technical representatives from GRI and the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) begin work on delivering the agreed MOU
The MOU, announced in March,
commits the two organisations to seeking to coordinate work programmes
and standard-setting activities. The IFRS Foundation and GRI recognise
the need to further harmonise the sustainability reporting landscape at
an international level. IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards and GRI
Standards can be viewed as two interconnected reporting pillars that
address distinct perspectives, which can together form a comprehensive
corporate reporting regime for the disclosure of sustainability
information.
In May, technical representatives from both organisations outlined
activities that could provide the necessary clarification and alignment.
Among the initiatives discussed were:
- An agreed schedule of meetings and roadmap to advance technical aspects of the collaboration.
- A mapping exercise to establish those requirements in draft IFRS S1
and IFRS S2 that are equivalent with GRI Standards, to guide an exercise
on alignment of disclosures, guidance, concepts and definitions.
- A comparison exercise of ISSB’s General Features and Qualitative
Characteristics of Information with GRI 1: Foundation, to identify scope
for alignment or explanation of differences.
- The development of a methodology to cross-reference between guidance
and other materials, produced by GRI and ISSB respectively, in order to
maximise usefulness to preparers of information.
- An examination of future priorities to maximise joint
standard-setting and guidance development activities, where the same or
similar information requirements exist.
- The development of a full articulation of the ways in which the
standards developed by GRI and ISSB respectively are complementary or
diverge, together with explanations.
- GRI staff outlined initial directions of their proposed feedback to
the consultation by the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group
(EFRAG) on the EU Sustainability Reporting Standards (the GRI response
subsequently published on 20 June).
“The collaboration between GRI and the ISSB is significant
because it reflects that both organizations value the importance of
working together to align our sustainability related standards. I
believe this will not only give companies greater clarity on reporting
expectations, it can ultimately improve the quality and relevance of
reporting data. I therefore welcome the progress achieved under our MOU
so far. These outcomes are tangible first steps towards achieving the
global, interconnected two-pillar system for corporate reporting, as
envisaged through the MOU, which reflects the distinct yet equal
importance of financial and impact materiality in sustainability
reporting. We look forward to continuing to collaborate with the IFRS
Foundation and the ISSB in support of this aim.”
Eelco van der Enden, CEO of GRI
The ISSB is committed to creating a global baseline of reporting
standards that meet the needs of investors. Our collaboration with GRI
will bring clarity to the market on how our two standards can interact
to provide a comprehensive and seamless suite of reporting standards
that meet the needs of broader stakeholders, while streamlining the
process for companies. This first meeting of our technical teams has
been truly encouraging and I look forward to our continued
collaboration.”
Emmanuel Faber, Chair of the ISSB
The requirements established by the ISSB are subject to the IFRS Foundation’s due process. Similarly, approval by the GRI Global Sustainability Standards Board will be needed before any of these outcomes are implemented.
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