FAQs

The IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards issued by the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) (also referred to as the ISSB Standards) form the global baseline for sustainability-related disclosures and build upon the SASB Standards and the TCFD Recommendations. Through IFRS S1 General Requirements for Disclosure of Sustainability-related Financial Information, the ISSB requires companies to consider the SASB Standards, in the absence of specific IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards, to identify sustainability-related risks, opportunities and related information to disclose.

The SASB Standards are used in over 3,200 companies in more than 80 jurisdictions around the world, including 75% of the S&P Global 1200 Index, because industry-based sustainability disclosures are cost-efficient for companies and decision-useful for investors. Businesses worldwide use SASB Standards to better identify, manage and communicate the material information about sustainability-related risks and opportunities they face.

Companies that apply the SASB Standards now will find they are an efficient solution for disclosing sustainability information and a solid foundation for adopting IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards in the coming years.

Whether you are planning to adopt the ISSB Standards early or in 2024¹, adopting or continuing to use the SASB Standards will help you because:

• IFRS S1 General Requirements for Disclosure of Sustainability-related Financial Information requires companies to consider the SASB Standards, knowing that those 77 industry-based disclosure standards provide investors with comparable, decision-useful information.
• IFRS S2 Climate-related Disclosures requires industry-specific disclosures and provides industry-based metrics derived from the SASB Standards as illustrative guidance.
• The ISSB intends to make the industry-based metrics mandatory in the future, subject to consultation.

The ISSB actively encourages preparers and investors to continue to use the SASB Standards. They will be maintained and enhanced, through rigorous due process, under the ISSB throughout their continued existence.

¹The first two ISSB Standards are effective for reporting periods beginning on or after January 1, 2024. Early adoption is permitted but must be disclosed. Various transition reliefs are available, including the ability for an entity to report on only climate-related risks and opportunities (as set out in IFRS S2) in the first year it applies IFRS S1 and IFRS S2. The SASB Standards as well as all SASB Standards implementation tools and resources, now part of the IFRS Foundation, are still accessible via sasb.org.

A group of ISSB members—chaired by Jeff Hales, former Chair of the SASB Standards Board—has been established and tasked with developing recommendations for the ISSB related to the maintenance, evolution and enhancement of the SASB Standards. The group will develop drafts of the required exposure drafts of amendments to the SASB Standards and, after considering the stakeholder feedback, drafts of the final amendments. The ISSB as a full board will consider the recommendations of this group in ISSB meetings (which are public) and ratify the exposure drafts and, subsequently the final amendments prepared by the group. The comment period for the exposure drafts will be the same as for those related to IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards.

In June 2023, the ISSB released updated SASB Standards to align the climate-related disclosure topics and metrics with IFRS S2 Climate-related Disclosures.

In December 2023, the ISSB completed a set of enhancements to the SASB Standards to improve their international applicability, thereby providing a solid footing for companies using them to apply IFRS S1 from 2024.

Further enhancements to the SASB Standards will be determined via public consultation. Stay up to date on the ISSB’s work plan, decisions and projects by subscribing to receive sustainability alerts via the IFRS Foundation’s notifications dashboard.

Industry-based disclosures are cost-efficient for companies and useful for investors. Using industry-based disclosure topics and metrics in the SASB Standards enables companies to address a range of sustainability-related risks and opportunities.

IFRS S1 General Requirements for Disclosure of Sustainability-related Financial Information provides the basis for achieving a truly global baseline of sustainability disclosure that meets investor needs. You can think of it as an outline: the overarching standard that applies to all sustainability-related risks and opportunities but does not specify what those risks and opportunities are.

To help companies identify their sustainability-related risks and opportunities and provide appropriate disclosures using IFRS S1, companies are required to consider the industry-based SASB Standards for topics beyond climate.

IFRS S2 Climate-related Disclosures provides the details for how to meet investor needs for climate disclosures. It is based on the TCFD Recommendations with industry-specific climate metrics based on the SASB Standards.

To help companies determine which climate metrics to disclose, IFRS S2 includes industry-specific metrics derived from the SASB Standards as accompanying guidance.

All open SASB Standards projects were transitioned to the ISSB as of August 1, 2022, when the Value Reporting Foundation consolidated into the IFRS Foundation. The SASB Standards Board’s recommended changes were passed to the ISSB for further deliberation and will be subject to the IFRS Foundation’s due process.

Work is expected to continue on these projects, although public consultation on the ISSB’s future agenda priorities will inform their detailed delivery plan.

The FSA Credential continues to be offered under the IFRS Foundation following the consolidation of the Value Reporting Foundation into the IFRS Foundation in August 2022. The transition of the SASB Standards and Integrated Reporting Framework to the IFRS Foundation and ISSB increases the global relevance and the value of the FSA Credential.

The FSA Level I materials have been updated to reflect the current sustainability disclosure environment, including the ISSB Standards. For additional questions, see the FSA Credential FAQ.

The SASB Alliance merged with the <IR> Business Network to form the IFRS Sustainability Alliance—a global community for sustainability standards and integrated reporting. Members of the IFRS Sustainability Alliance share a belief in the benefits of a coherent and comprehensive system for corporate disclosure and a more integrated approach to the way organisations plan and disclose their approach to value creation. Visit the IFRS Sustainability Alliance website for more information.

First, thank you for your interest in engaging with and supporting the ISSB as it works toward delivering a global baseline of sustainability disclosure standards. Your engagement, including 1,400+ responses on the General Requirements (IFRS S1) and Climate (IFRS S2) Exposure Drafts, has contributed to the quality and speed of the ISSB’s work to date and will continue to be important to their work going forward.

The ISSB issued its first two Standards (IFRS S1 and IFRS S2) in June 2023. For notices of upcoming consultation periods, please subscribe to receive sustainability alerts via the IFRS Foundation’s notifications dashboard. See the ISSB Update for preliminary decisions of the ISSB. See the ISSB FAQs for more information about the ISSB and its work. Other questions and feedback for the ISSB can be submitted via the contact form on the ISSB’s webpage.

Oversight of the SASB Standards has transitioned from the SASB Standards Board to the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) of the IFRS Foundation. The IFRS Foundation transparently provides stakeholders with a view into the ISSB’s agenda, activities, deliberations, decisions, active projects and other standards-related updates.

In 2023, the ISSB enhanced the international applicability of the SASB Standards and will continue SASB Standards projects handed over by the VRF subject to public consultation.

Visit the IFRS Foundation notifications dashboard to stay informed about the work of the ISSB.

There is broad support in global capital markets for all companies—regardless of their industry—to disclose their Scope 1, Scope 2 and (where feasible) Scope 3 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. For this reason, IFRS S2 Climate-related Disclosures includes cross-industry disclosure requirements for Scope 1, Scope 2 and Scope 3 GHG emissions (subject to an entity’s determination that information regarding those emissions is material). The approach to climate-related disclosure in the SASB Standards is different but not in conflict with such cross-industry reporting.

A subset of 22 SASB Standards include disclosure topics and metrics regarding direct (Scope 1) emissions, because the SASB standard-setting process identified those industries as the most likely to face financial effects specifically related to their emissions. These effects may manifest as regulatory risks and shifts in consumer demand, which in turn affect costs and revenues.

For indirect emissions, SASB Standards capture the operational and/or strategic factors that give rise to such emissions. For the 35 industries that indirectly contribute to greenhouse gas emissions through significant use of purchased electricity (i.e., Scope 2), SASB Standards contain metrics related to understanding the amount, type (conventional or renewable) and source (self-generated or purchased) of energy.

For industries that indirectly contribute to greenhouse gas emissions upstream (e.g., from purchased materials processing and transportation), downstream (e.g., from distribution and use of products) or in other ways (e.g., from employee commuting and business travel)—in other words, Scope 3 emissions—SASB Standards recommend metrics directly related to performance in those areas.

For more information on the approach to GHG emissions and related topics in the SASB Standards, see the SASB Climate Risk Technical Bulletin.

Human capital issues are well-represented throughout the 77 SASB industry standards, as detailed in the SASB Human Capital Bulletin. However, many issues are rapidly evolving and both companies and investors are increasingly attuned to their financial implications. As a result, investor expectations for human capital disclosure are rising. With this in mind, SASB Standards research staff undertook the Human Capital research project with the objective of evolving the content of the Standards in light of emerging trends.

In December of 2021, the SASB Standards Board approved a new standard-setting project evaluating whether and how to address the themes of diversity, equity and inclusion in 45 industries. More information on that project can be found on the DEI project page.

These projects were transitioned to the ISSB upon consolidation of the Value Reporting Foundation into the IFRS Foundation in August 2022. The consultation on the ISSB’s future agenda priorities will inform the delivery plan for these projects.

Water and wastewater management is one of the more prevalent issues addressed in SASB Standards, appearing in 25 of 77 industries. However, in many cases, the issue can have diversified impacts on operating risk and financial performance from one industry to the next, and these differences are reflected in the SASB Standards content.

Water risk impacts are physical in nature, such as those driven by limited natural water availability, competition for water resources and watershed pollution. SASB Standards consider two high-level categories of physical water risk: access to water and water quality. Additionally, SASB Standards consider how the regulatory environment can affect physical water risks and a company’s ability to manage those risks.

Metrics can be categorised in the following ways:

• “Industry-based” metrics are those that are tailored to a particular industry context.
• “Industry-agnostic” metrics are those that can be used to measure performance on a topic in a range of different industry contexts.
• “Cross-industry” metrics are applied consistently across all industries.

Because SASB Standards are designed to identify and standardise disclosure for the sustainability-related risk and opportunities most relevant to investor decision-making in each of 77 industry verticals, SASB Standards are industry-based and primarily contain industry-based metrics. However, many risks and opportunities cut across industries and sectors and those issues in many cases can be measured consistently across different business models (i.e., using “industry-agnostic” metrics). For example, SASB disclosure topics related to energy management (35 industries), employee health and safety (26 industries) and water management (25 industries) use identical or near-identical metrics in most relevant industry contexts.

SASB Standards do not currently contain “cross-industry” quantitative metrics, although demand has increased for certain metrics—such as those related to human capital management and climate change—to be more consistently applied across all industries. For qualitative disclosure, SASB Standards Application Guidance recommends that all companies disclose information about their governance, strategy and risk management for all SASB disclosure topics.

No. The scope of monetary losses included in the disclosure shall include only the losses that were accrued (i.e., on the statement of profit or loss) during the reporting period, which might differ from the amount paid in that period. The entity shall report the net amount of any loss or gain, including amounts reported in a prior period that are reversed during the current reporting period.

Although reporting companies may face different thresholds for recognition (i.e., “probable”) depending on whether they are reporting under local GAAP or IFRS Accounting Standards, SASB Standards Application Guidance recommends that, when providing disclosure in accordance with SASB Standards, companies do so in a way that is consistent with their financial reporting.

All losses accrued during the current reporting period shall be included in the scope of disclosure.

Providing sustainability disclosures using SASB Standards is a cost-effective way to provide decision-useful information to investors and puts companies in a prime position for implementing IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards. A good place to start is reviewing the SASB Standard(s) for your industry (or industries) and the SASB Standards Implementation Primer. Additionally, a number of case studies and Q&As with reporting companies may provide useful insights on getting started. Finally, it may be valuable to review the disclosures of other SASB Standards reporters in your industry.

For a company that operates in multiple industries, more than one industry Standard may be required to address the full array of sustainability topics reasonably likely to influence investors’ decision-making. Please consult the SASB Standards Application Guidance and “Understanding SASB Standards” within the SASB Standards Implementation Primer for further information.

SASB Standards are designed to address sustainability factors that are applicable to the typical company within an industry. In some cases they may:

• Include topics that, for certain companies, may not represent a significant risk or opportunity; and/or
• Not necessarily include every sustainability factor that is relevant to a reporting company.

The SASB Standards Application Guidance recommends that a company disclose its rationale when it omits or modifies a SASB metric. Companies using the SASB Standards as part of their implementation of ISSB Standards should consider the relevant ISSB application guidance.

When choosing to include additional topics in its disclosure, a company should consider providing a narrative describing why the topic is important and reviewing other SASB industry standards in which the topic is covered to ensure that metrics are well-aligned with those commonly in use.

For more information, see Understanding SASB Standards.

No. Companies are responsible for determining which SASB disclosure topics represent significant risks or opportunities for their business and which associated metrics warrant disclosure, taking the company’s business model, business strategy and relevant legal requirements into account. A company can make a disclosure using the SASB Standards and, in doing so, state that it has not concluded that the information is material.

Companies using the SASB Standards as part of their implementation of ISSB Standards should consider the relevant ISSB application guidance.

As an independent standard-setter, the IFRS Foundation does not provide advisory or assurance services. We recommend that reporting companies seek the advice of professional consultants, assurance providers, and legal counsel when preparing disclosures in accordance with SASB Standards. For technical questions about how to interpret or apply the Standards, contact SASB Standards technical staff.

No. As an independent standard-setter, the IFRS Foundation does not provide advisory services. The reporting company is responsible for determining which sustainability-related issues are most likely to represent risks or opportunities and which information to disclose.

SASB Standards are designed to identify sustainability topics most likely to be considered by investors in their decision-making for the typical company within a particular industry and develop high-quality, comparable disclosures on such topics for use by investors and other providers of financial capital.

As such, SASB Standards may serve as a useful input to a company’s approach to assessing materiality, enterprise risk management or other internal deliberations that may influence communications with investors.

An integrated report is a concise communication about how an organisation’s strategy, governance, performance and prospects, in the context of its external environment, lead to the creation, preservation or erosion of value in the short, medium and long term.

SASB Standards provide the disclosure topics and metrics needed to accurately assess the effectiveness of a business’s governance, strategic planning and risk management, enabling better comparability and accountability. Likewise, the Standards enable the communication of performance on sustainability risks and opportunities in greater detail and with greater comparability.

For more information, read “Strengthening an Integrated Report Using SASB Standards” and the “Complementary Tools: Using the Integrated Reporting Framework and SASB Standards Together” paper.

Yes. The SASB Standards are used in over 3,200 companies in more than 80 jurisdictions around the world, including 75% of the S&P Global 1200 Index, because industry-based sustainability disclosures are cost-efficient for companies and decision-useful for investors. Businesses worldwide use SASB Standards to better identify, manage and communicate the material information about sustainability-related risks and opportunities they face.

Furthermore, the IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards being developed by the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) to form the global baseline for sustainability-related disclosures build upon the SASB Standards and the TCFD Recommendations. Through IFRS S1 General Requirements for Disclosure of Sustainability-related Financial Information, the ISSB requires companies to consider the SASB Standards, in the absence of specific IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards, to identify sustainability-related risks, opportunities and related information.

The ISSB has enhanced the international applicability of the SASB Standards—a targeted project to ensure any companies can use them to advance their disclosure under IFRS S1, regardless of where they are based or their operating footprint—and will continue the SASB Standards projects it inherited from the SASB Standards Board, subject to public consultation. In other words, the ISSB is not just building upon and preserving the SASB Standards, it is updating and improving them.

Companies that apply the SASB Standards now will find they are an efficient solution for disclosing sustainability information and a solid foundation for adopting IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards.

A company is best positioned to determine which Sustainable Industry Classification System® (SICS®) industry (or industries) most accurately represents its business and, therefore, which SASB Standard (or Standards) to use in making disclosures to investors. If you are unable to find your company or think the SICS® classification for your company needs to be reviewed, please contact us. The more information you provide, the more quickly we will be able to process your reclassification request.

A list of SASB reporters can be found on the Companies Reporting with SASB Standards page, where users can filter by industry, sector, country, year and more and click through to view a company’s report. If your company uses SASB Standards in communications with investors but is not listed, please contact us.

Although we monitor use of SASB Standards, we do not collect reported information and do not require that companies notify us when they use the Standards. Nevertheless, we appreciate companies notifying us when they have made disclosures using the Standards and welcome their feedback. To be listed among the Companies Reporting with SASB Standards, companies must reference their use of SASB Standards in their disclosures, and preferably, use the SASB metric codes. If your company has already done so and you do not see your organisation listed within a month, please contact us.

No, a company does not need to pay a fee to disclose information using SASB Standards. All 77 industry-based SASB Standards are available to download free of charge on sasb.org for non-commercial use, such as disclosure to investors or for use in academic research.

Programs are available for commercial uses of the Standards, such as integrating them into investment strategies or reporting software. These fee-based programs help ensure that the businesses that benefit from the Standards help facilitate their maintenance. For more information, please see Licensing Use.

Yes. The Fundamentals of Sustainability Accounting (FSA) Credential is designed for professionals who benefit from understanding the link between material sustainability information and a company’s financial performance. The majority of test takers are professionals in investment analysis, consulting and sustainability. Find out more about the FSA community, review sample test questions, register for the exam and browse FAQs on the FSA website.

For answers to licensing questions, please see IFRS Sustainability licensing FAQs.

In response to the demand from investors and businesses to simplify the global sustainability disclosure landscape, the IFRS Foundation formed the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB), bringing together the Climate Disclosure Standards Board and the Value Reporting Foundation (which housed the SASB Standards and the Integrated Reporting Framework). The ISSB is developing a global baseline of sustainability-related disclosure standards (the IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards) and a taxonomy to facilitate digital reporting, building upon the existing work of market-led investor-focused reporting initiatives, including the SASB Standards, the Task Force for Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) and the World Economic Forum. IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards will enable companies to provide comprehensive information about sustainability matters to the financial markets, emphasising consistency and connectivity between financial statements and sustainability-related disclosures.

IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards direct companies to the industry-based SASB Standards as priority materials for identifying sustainability risks and opportunities. Specifically:

• In IFRS S1 General Requirements for Disclosure of Sustainability-related Financial Information, to help companies identify their sustainability-related risks and opportunities and provide appropriate disclosures using IFRS S1, companies are required to refer to and consider the applicability of the industry-based SASB Standards for topics beyond climate.
• IFRS S2 Climate-related Disclosures is based on the TCFD Recommendations and includes industry-specific climate metrics derived from the SASB Standards as accompanying guidance.

SASB Standards can be used to provide investor-focused sustainability disclosures in the absence of specific IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards. Similarly, SASB Standards enable robust implementation of the Integrated Reporting Framework, providing the comparability sought by investors.

Other sustainability-related disclosure frameworks serve their own unique purposes, and ultimately, companies must evaluate and decide which meet the needs of their key stakeholders.