The substance of the two new sustainability standards has now been fully agreed and they will now go into the review stage with a view to launching the final standards by the end of June this year.

The ISSB unanimously approved the standards in principle and said it would proceed to the thorough drafting and formal ‘balloting’ process period, ahead of their expected issuance at the end of Q2 2023. The decision was taken at a board meeting in Montreal last week.

The ISSB confirmed that the initial IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards, S1 and S2, will become effective starting January 2024. Given sustainability disclosure is new for many companies globally, the ISSB will introduce programmes that support those applying its standards as market infrastructure and capacity is built.