IOSCO welcomes engagement on proposed standards issued by ISSB

The International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) welcomed the strong engagement from industry, policymakers, civil society and other stakeholders on proposed standards for corporate reporting on sustainability issued by the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB).The Board discussed the ISSB’s proposals and agreed on the criteria it will use to decide whether to endorse the standards when they are finalized.1 IOSCO is closely monitoring the stakeholder feedback around the world on the ISSB’s exposure drafts on general sustainability disclosure requirements and climate-related disclosure requirements for capital markets.Ashley Alder, Chair of the Board of IOSCO and CEO of the Hong Kong SFC, commented that “We are seeing huge enthusiasm for IOSCO to contribute to the ISSB’s consultation so that the final versions of these crucial standards fulfil the requirements of our securities regulator membership. There is growing recognition of the value of a global baseline of sustainability disclosures that builds on existing initiatives and results in corporate reporting for investors that is sufficiently consistent and comparable across both developed and developing markets. An important aspect of IOSCO’s evaluation work focuses on the practicality of standards implementation across different markets, between companies of different sizes and within different industry sectors. We believe that clear guidance covering proportionality and technical implementation of the standards, including the critical climate standard, is important to encourage an aligned global outcome.”Refer to the full IOSCO release here. All opinions expressed are those of the author. investESG.eu is an independent and neutral platform dedicated to generating debate around ESG investing topics.