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The IFRS Foundation and Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) have announced today a collaboration agreement under which their respective standard setting boards, the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) and the Global Sustainability Standards Board (GSSB), will seek to coordinate their work programmes and standard-setting activities.
The IFRS Foundation, which announced at COP26 the establishment of the ISSB to develop a comprehensive global baseline of investor-focused sustainability disclosures for the capital markets, and GRI, the leading global standard-setter for multi-stakeholder focused sustainability reporting, further announced that they will join each other's consultative bodies related to sustainability reporting activities.
The agreement reflects the importance of ensuring compatibility and interconnectedness of investor-focused baseline sustainability information that meets the needs of the capital markets, with information intended to serve the needs of a broader range of stakeholders. The IFRS Foundation and GRI recognise the considerable public interest in aligning where possible their respective work programmes, terminology and guidance – helping to reduce the reporting burden for companies and to further harmonise the sustainability reporting landscape at an international level.
By working together, the IFRS Foundation and GRI provide two ‘pillars’ of international sustainability reporting – a first pillar representing investor-focused capital market standards of IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards developed by the ISSB, and a second pillar of GRI sustainability reporting requirements set by the GSSB, compatible with the first, designed to meet multi-stakeholder needs.
At COP26 we heard strong support for consolidation in the sustainability reporting landscape. The work of the ISSB and its global baseline concept will help deliver this objective for the capital markets, whilst this agreement with GRI will help ensure capital market standards are developed in a way that minimises reporting burden for those companies also using GRI Standards.”
Erkki Liikanen, Chair of the IFRS Foundation TrusteesThe MoU between GRI and the IFRS Foundation is a strong signal to capital markets and society that a comprehensive reporting system, which combines financial and impact materiality for sustainability reporting, is possible on a global scale. Aligning GRI’s established and widely adopted standards for sustainability impacts with the investor-focused standards being developed by the ISSB will benefit both companies and investors, as well as a wide range of stakeholders around the world.”
Eelco van der Enden, CEO of GRI..