Eurosif open letter in response to the ISSB consultation

Today, Eurosif sent an open letter responding to the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) consultation [link], concerning the “general requirements for disclosure of sustainability-related financial information” (IFRS 1) and “Climate-related disclosures” (IFRS 2). Eurosif welcomes the opportunity to provide comments on some general and climate-related reporting requirements that are proposed in the exposure drafts under consultation, including suggestions as to where and how the requirements could be improved.

As a pan-European association dedicated to the promotion and advancement of sustainable investing, we are convinced that the widespread adoption of a global baseline will be crucial to increase the availability, reliability and comparability of sustainability-related information. At the same time, there is an increasing investors’ interest to access data on the negative and positive impacts of companies on sustainability matters. With this open letter, we would like to emphasize, the following key points:

• The adoption of a global baseline on sustainability reporting is crucial to increase the availability, reliability, and comparability of ESG information. In this perspective, two major values added of the ISSB’s are 1) the adaptability to different markets & jurisdictions, and 2) the interoperability with existing and upcoming reporting standards.
• In the EU market, reliable ESG data from corporates are essential to enable investors to satisfy the regulatory requirements stemming from the SFDR and the EU Taxonomy so as to provide accurate information to their clients on the Sustainability features of their investments.
• Investors are increasingly interested in gathering data on the negative and positive impacts of companies on sustainability matters. Therefore, Eurosif strongly supports the collaboration with the GRI and encourages further cooperation with the EFRAG and the EU institutions while they are developing their framework based on double materiality.

Contact details

Federica Casarsa, Policy Officer – federica.casarsa@eurosif.org

Marie Lavayssiere, Communication and Events Manager – marie.lavayssiere@eurosif.org