On 26 June 2023, the FCA published a statement welcoming the International Sustainability Standards Board’s (ISSB) first sustainability-related reporting standards – the General Requirements for Disclosure of Sustainability-related financial information (IFRS S1) and the requirements for Climate-related Disclosures (IFRS S2).

The FCA notes that it has been a strong advocate of the development of international corporate reporting standards on sustainability, and says the ISSB standards answer the clear market demand for complete, consistent, comparable and reliable corporate sustainability disclosures.

The UK government also recently signalled support for the ISSB and announced that it would be establishing a mechanism for formal UK endorsement and adoption of the standards. Furthermore, once available for use in the UK, the FCA’s intention is to update its climate-related disclosure rules to reference the ISSB standards.

Sacha Sadan, Director of Environmental, Social and Governance, at the FCA said:

‘We have been working closely with the ISSB since the start and are hugely supportive of its mission to create a common, global language for companies around the world to communicate their sustainability stories, in a consistent, comparable way. That is why we are delighted to see the final standards launched today.’