1 August 2022
Dear Stakeholders,
We’ve arrived at a remarkable milestone, the consolidation of the Value Reporting Foundation — home to the SASB Standards, Integrated Reporting Framework, and Integrated Thinking Principles — into the IFRS Foundation, effective August 1. The SASB Standards, Integrated Reporting Framework, and Integrated Thinking Principles will now be maintained by the IFRS Foundation.
As I reflect on this milestone, I scoured the early archives of the IIRC and SASB to reflect on the significance of this moment. A decade ago, these two start-ups launched an ocean and a continent apart, with the same ambitious vision: to put sustainability and long-term thinking at the heart of business and investor decision-making. Both IIRC and SASB believed in the power of information to transform decision making. The IIRC, especially through integrated thinking, focused on transforming business decision making. SASB focused on transforming investor decision making.
Through our consolidation into the IFRS Foundation, these early visions of embedding sustainability information into capital markets infrastructure — to enable improved business and investor decision making — will be realised. This is a collective accomplishment for the thousands of stakeholders, all over the world, who have participated in the work of the IIRC, SASB, and VRF over the last decade. Thank you for your ongoing involvement and support!
Here’s what this consolidation means for you:
- Continue using the SASB Standards. The ISSB has committed to build on the industry-based SASB Standards and leverage SASB’s industry-based approach to standards development. You can still access resources related to the SASB Standards at sasb.org.
- Continue using the Integrated Reporting Framework. The IASB and ISSB have committed to build upon and integrate the Framework into their standard setting projects and requirements. The IASB and ISSB encourage continued use of the Framework and the Integrated Thinking Principles underpinning it. You can still access resources related to the Integrated Reporting Framework and Integrated Thinking Principles at integratedreporting.org.
- Prepare to engage in the IFRS Foundation’s standard-setting process. Thank you to everyone who participated in the consultation for the Climate-related Disclosures Exposure Draft and General Requirements for Sustainability-related Disclosures Exposure Draft. By preparing to engage in future consultations, you can help ensure the IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards meet market needs. Sign up for notifications to learn about ongoing ways to engage, including notifications about the ISSB’s important agenda consultation later this year.
Looking ahead, we are fortunate to have committed and supportive leadership at the IFRS Foundation and the ISSB, including Chair of the IFRS Foundation Trustees Erkki Liikanen, ISSB Chair Emmanuel Faber, and ISSB Vice Chair Sue Lloyd. Emmanuel and Sue have a strong commitment to stewarding the legacy of the SASB Standards and Integrated Reporting Framework. We are also thrilled that SASB Standards Board members Verity Chegar, Jeff Hales, and Elizabeth Seeger and VRF Board Director Michael Jantzi have been appointed as members of the ISSB.
This is not the end, but another beginning. Over the last decade, it has been our goal to help create a system for sustainability disclosure that has the commensurate level of maturity, credibility, and acceptance as financial accounting. With the VRF’s consolidation into the IFRS Foundation, we take a major step toward accomplishing this vision. We finally have a path to creating a common language between companies and investors to measure sustainability performance, just as financial accounting standards provided a common language to measure financial performance. To ensure we reach this outcome, we need your ongoing support and participation in the standards development process at the IFRS Foundation.
Thank you for helping us reach this major milestone. Together, we are transforming the markets to enable a more sustainable and resilient future.
All the best,
Janine Guillot
Special Advisor, ISSB
Former CEO, the Value Reporting Foundation
