The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) will be consulting in Q1 2024 on proposals to implement sustainability disclosure rules incorporating the International Sustainability Standards Board’s (ISSB) IFRS S1 and S2 standards for listed companies. Considering the UK government’s own endorsement process, the FCA aims to finalise its policy position by the end of this 2024, bringing new requirements into force for accounting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2025. Reporting would begin from 2026, the FCA said in the market bulletin. The UK government first announced its Sustainability Disclosure Standards (SDS) earlier this month, noting that they will utilise the ISSB framework as a baseline and will only divert from it when accounting for UK-specific matters. “At the same time as consulting on our policy approach in relation to the ISSB standards, we’ll consult on guidance that will set our expectations for listed companies’ transition plan disclosures,” the FCA bulletin said. The watchdog further referenced the ISSB’s recent consolidation of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) framework, which is mandated in the UK, noting that it had “previously stated that we intend to consult on updating our TCFD-aligned disclosure rules for listed companies to refer to the UK-endorsed ISSB standards”.
