In its latest meeting, the International Sustainability Standards Board discussed a number of proposals to enhance the interoperability of its climate and general sustainability standards with the European sustainability reporting standards (ESRSs). It was noted that interoperability with the draft ESRSs “would be enhanced” if the European standards were to also refer to the materials of the ISSB, including its industry-specific climate standards. The ISSB also considered the potential of referring to the ESRSs “in the absence of directly applicable ISSB standards”, including metrics developed by the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) alongside the ESRSs developed by the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG). The ISSB was not asked to vote, but these discussions will be expanded upon at a future ISSB meeting. Additionally, the ISSB agreed on a requirement to consider asking companies reporting against its sustainability standard to also consider the SASB standards, as these cover a range of sustainability matters that have been designed with an investor focus.
