BLOGS

In September 2020, the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC), together with the Climate Disclosure Standards Board (CDSB), Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB), issued a statement of intent to work together to achieve greater alignment.

In December 2020, this group (known as the ‘gang of five’) released Reporting on Enterprise Value, a prototype showing how their existing sustainability guidelines and the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) recommendations could be consolidated to form global standards for climate-related financial disclosures, with the potential to extend to other ESG matters. The paper was significant in offering a prototype for future global sustainability reporting standards.

In November 2020, the IIRC announced its intention to merge with the US-based SASB in June 2021 to form the Value Reporting Foundation (VRF). 

In September 2020, the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) Foundation – the governing body of the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), which issues global financial reporting standards – issued a consultation paper on whether to develop sustainability reporting standards. Following positive public feedback, it announced in February 2021 that it would proceed with establishing an International Sustainability Standards Board. In April 2021, it released a feedback statement summarising public comments, along with an exposure draft on proposed constitutional changes. The ISSB would provide investor-focused global sustainability standards, initially covering climate change before extending to other areas such as nature and human capital.

The ISSB was officially launched at COP 26 in Glasgow on 3 November 2021, with its standards named the IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards. The launch also announced the consolidation of the technical expertise and resources of the VRF and CDSB into the ISSB – a process completed in August 2022, resulting in the full absorption of both organisations.

Alongside the launch, the Technical Readiness Working Group (TRWG) – a multi-body group comprising the VRF, CDSB, IASB, TCFD and World Economic Forum (WEF) – released three prototype papers: General Requirements for Disclosure of Sustainability-related Financial Information Prototype, Climate-related Disclosures Prototype and its Supplement: Technical Protocols. These prototypes, available on the IFRS website, formed the basis of the two inaugural exposure drafts issued by the ISSB on 31 March 2022.

On 31 March 2022, the ISSB released its first two exposure drafts for public comment – one on general sustainability-related financial disclosure requirements, and the other on climate-related disclosures. Comments were due by 29 July 2022. Following over 1 600 responses, the ISSB released its first two standards, IFRS S1 and S2, on 26 June 2023. The ISSB standards are positioned as the global baseline for sustainability disclosure reporting. The standards are voluntary unless mandated by a national authority.

On 4 May 2023, the ISSB issued a global survey inviting input on four short-listed projects for its future work programme: biodiversity (nature), human rights, human capital, and integration in reporting. In May 2024, the ISSB announced it would prioritise biodiversity and human capital for its 2024/25 technical programme, with an exposure draft on nature expected in late 2026.

The International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO), the global body of capital markets regulators representing 170 jurisdictions, has played a pivotal role in the process of reshaping global corporate reporting. IOSCO chairs the IFRS Monitoring Board, which oversees the IFRS Foundation Trustees, who in turn oversee the IASB and ISSB.

In July 2023, IOSCO endorsed the ISSB standards – a significant move that places pressure on individual stock exchanges to determine if and how they will adopt the standards in their markets.

In May 2021, the IASB released an exposure draft on its Management Commentary Practice Note, open for comment until November 2021. The revised IFRS Practice Statement 1, Management Commentary was issued on 23 June 2025.

The IASB and ISSB are now the bodies responsible for the Integrated Reporting Framework. Recognising its international popularity, the IFRS Foundation has encouraged organisations to adopt and continue using the Framework for their integrated reports. Staff from the former IIRC have been absorbed into the IFRS Foundation, and support for the Framework continues. The former IIRC became  the Integrated Reporting and Connectivity Council (IRCC) and served as an advisory body to the IFRS Foundation on integrated reporting and integrated thinking until April 2026. There is now an Integrated Reporting Community Leaders forum comprising the IR national bodies of various jurisdictions and other stakeholders.

Use of the Framework has increased globally by approximately 20% over the past few years.

On 29 April 2022, the EU released 12 exposure drafts of the European Sustainability Reporting Standards for public comment until 8 August 2022. The exposure drafts are based on double materiality and cover general principles, general disclosure requirements, climate, pollution, water and marine resources, biodiversity and ecosystems, resource use and circular economy, own workforce, workers in the value chain, affected communities, consumers and end-users, governance, and business conduct.

Following consideration of public comments, the updated ESRS drafts were submitted to the European Commission in November 2022 and adopted in July 2023. The standards apply from financial year 2024 in a phased-in approach based on company size, affecting many EU organisations and some non-EU companies operating in the EU that meet certain thresholds.

In June 2024, the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG) issued implementation guidance on materiality assessment, the value chain and ESRS datapoints.

In July 2025, EFRAG released revised and simplified exposure drafts of all 12 standards, reducing the number of datapoints to ease the reporting burden on preparers. In December 2025, the new simplified ESRS (draft) were issued, requiring ratification by the European Commission before becoming final.

The GRI has issued sustainability reporting standards to meet the information needs of multiple stakeholders, including investors, since 1997. This multi-stakeholder perspective differentiates the GRI Standards from the ISSB Standards, although the ESRS align with the GRI’s approach. The GRI Standards are voluntary.

Many GRI Standards informed the development of the ESRS, and there is a high level of interoperability. The GRI has also established a memorandum of understanding with the ISSB to achieve further interoperability and alignment.

A 2025 global survey, The State of Sustainability Reporting: Global Trends in the GRI Standards 2025, covering almost 15 000 listed companies across 132 jurisdictions, found that GRI is the most widely used sustainability disclosure standard, with GRI reporters accounting for 62% of global market capitalisation. The survey also highlighted that sustainability reporting is a multi-framework practice, with companies also referencing the TCFD, SASB, CDP, ISSB, ESRS and Task Force on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD).

The various sustainability standards adopt different materiality perspectives, which determine what information must be disclosed:

• Financial materiality (investor materiality): Information is material if omitting, obscuring or misstating it could reasonably be expected to influence investor decisions. This aligns with the IASB’s definition and is used in the ISSB standards.
• Impact materiality: An organisation’s material (actual or potential, positive or negative) impacts on people or the natural environment. Used in the GRI standards.
• Double materiality: Combines financial materiality and impact materiality. Used in the ESRS.

The ISSB promotes its standards as representing the ‘global baseline’ – i.e., the minimum standards for sustainability reporting that meets investor needs. This baseline can then be ‘layered’ with additional information, including regional requirements (e.g., ESRS), multi-stakeholder standards (e.g., GRI), and country-specific national requirements.

In May 2026, the GRI and ISSB issued a joint statement confirming they are working together to enable a seamless, global and comprehensive sustainability reporting system. The two global standard-setters are working to “identify and align common disclosures” and “explain how their complementary disclosures can be used together to facilitate efficient reporting for entities choosing or being mandated to meet the information needs of investors and other stakeholders”.

To elevate sustainability disclosures to the same level as financial disclosures, assurance has become a critical element.

In November 2024, the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) released International Standard on Sustainability Assurance (ISSA) 5000, General Requirements for Sustainability Assurance Engagements – a standalone standard that leverages existing IAASB guidance (including ISAE 3000 (revised) and ISAE 3410 on greenhouse gas statements). ISSA 5000 covers all elements of a sustainability assurance engagement for both limited and reasonable assurance, provides specificity for priority areas, can include assurance of the integrated report, and applies to sustainability information across any topic and under multiple frameworks.

In January 2025, the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA) released a new standard addressing ethics and independence requirements for sustainability assurance engagements. Both standards are not profession-specific and can be used by accountants and non-accountants.

In addition, the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO) has issued supplemental guidance on achieving effective internal control of sustainability reporting.