- 65 organizations today endorse a joint statement calling for stronger alignment of regulatory and standard-setting efforts around sustainability disclosure.
- They encourage major actors, including the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB), the US Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) and the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG) to continue to work closely together.
- Capital market participants are supportive of establishing a global baseline of sustainability disclosure requirements, on top of which local jurisdictions can add their own interoperable reporting requirements.
- Find the full text of the endorsed statement here.
GENEVA, LONDON, NEW YORK, 30 August 2022 – Sixty-five companies, investors and professional accounting firms from across the world add their voices to the call for major standard-setting efforts to more closely align with and support a global baseline for reporting sustainability-related information.
The endorsed statement was developed jointly by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) and the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC). In addition to formal consultation responses, this public statement makes clear the momentum and encouragement behind stronger alignment between sustainability standard-setting efforts.
Significant efforts by the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB), the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the European Commission together with the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG), all aim to address the need to enhance and evolve corporate reporting to include and consider sustainability information. However, current draft standards and initiatives are not technically compatible in terms of concepts, terminologies and metrics.
As these proposed sustainability-related disclosure requirements are refined and finalized, leading financial market participants are asking financial market regulators to avoid regulatory and standard setting fragmentation by aligning on key concepts, terminologies and metrics on which disclosure requirements are built.
A comprehensive global baseline of sustainability disclosures is required for reporting entities to avoid undue burden and for investors to make investment decisions that truly contribute to sustainable outcomes.
A globally consistent, comparable, reliable, and assurable corporate reporting system is indispensable in providing all stakeholders with a clear and accurate picture of an organization’s ability to create sustainable value over time.
The endorsed statement released today is signed by:Achmea Investment Management
ADM
Arçelik Global
Assicurazioni Generali
Ayala Corporation
Baloise Asset Management
BCSD Taiwan X Taiwan Sustainable Finance Platform
BDO
Beach Point Capital Management
Borealis Group
Boston Trust Walden
Brunel Pension Partnership
Bühler Group
Calvert Research and Management
CentraRSE
Dalton Investments
Dana Investment Advisors
DBS Group
de Pury Pictet Terrettini
Deloitte
Desjardins Global Asset Management
DNV
East Capital Group
Ecofi
EFG Asset Management
EmergeVest
ENI S.p.A.
Equitile Investments
Ernst & Young Global Limited
Etica Funds – Responsible Investments
Future Super
GAM Investments
Grant Thornton International, Ltd.
Hewlett Packard Enterprise
HÖ Sabanci Holding
Holcim Ltd
Honda Motor Co., Ltd.
Ingka Group
Investment Management Corporation of Ontario
Kieger
KPMG International
Lyrical Asset Management
Mercedes-Benz Group AG
Nestlé
Newton Investment Management
Northern Ireland Local Government Officers’ Superannuation Committee
Octagon Credit Investors
Öhman Fonder
Olam Food Ingredients
Pegaso Pension Fund
Perennial Investment Management
PKA
PwC
Rathbones Group
Resona Asset Management
Responsible Investment Association Australia
Royal DSM
SABIC
SCG
Shell plc
STAR Capital Partnership
Swisscanto by Zürcher Kantonalbank
Tareno AG
Webster Equity Partners
Wespath Benefits and Investments
