ISSB: A “Badly Needed” Step in ESG Disclosure Push

The new International Sustainability Standards Board will seek to simplify the global sustainability reporting landscape by consolidating several standard-setting organisations
Mar 16, 2022 10:00 AM ET

Originally published on Accountancy Age

By Sam Alberti

The creation of the new International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) was a major step in the effort to establish a global consensus for sustainability disclosures and simplify the complex landscape, according to industry participants.

“There are just too many frameworks and sets of standards, so the reporting landscape is becoming more and more fragmented, and people are struggling to navigate it,” says Yen-Pei Chen, senior policy manager corporate reporting and tax at ACCA, going on to call the new board a “badly needed” development.

For Andromeda Wood, vice president of regulatory strategy at Workiva, the creation of the TRWG was a particularly important step in this process, as it allowed the ISSB to gain a head-start in creating an official set of disclosure standards.

“It was definitely a point of concern in the market that this board wouldn’t be able to move quickly enough or be agile enough to deal with the urgency. But they understood that and took steps to mitigate it.”

She also hails the ISSB’s consolidation with other standard-setting organisations, calling the move a “powerful symbol”.

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