The International Sustainability Standards Board (the “ISSB”) published updates on its initial proposed climate and sustainability related disclosure standards – the Exposure Draft IFRS S1 General Requirements for Disclosure of Sustainability-related Financial Information (the “Sustainability Standards”) and Exposure Draft IFRS S2 Climate-related Disclosures (the “Climate Standards”).

In the first update provided on October 21, the ISSB stated that it considered the feedback on its proposed standards, and voted unanimously to

• Require company disclosures on Scope 1, Scope 2 and Scope 3 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. As part of these requirements, the ISSB will develop relief provisions to help companies apply the Scope 3 requirements.

• Clarify key concepts in the proposed General Requirements Standard

• To facilitate interoperability with jurisdictional requirements including confirming the use of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD)

In the second update provided on November 1, the ISSB unanimously confirmed that companies will be required to use climate-related scenario analysis to inform resilience analysis.

The ISSB will

• Refer to TCFD guidance that sets out types of scenario analysis, including quantitative, partially quantitative and qualitative.

• Require that an entity to undertake the qualitative form of scenario analysis as a basis for its resilience analysis.

• Provide guidance on which climate scenarios an entity should use, depending on their circumstances, including industry and country exposure, to provide relevant information to investors.

• Acknowledge in its guidance within the Standard that 'off-the-shelf scenarios' such as those of the Network for Greening the Financial System may be useful resources for companies.

Finally, in the last update provided on November 3, the ISSB took the decision to:

• Requires companies to consider SASB Standards both when identifying what sustainability matters to report on and in developing appropriate disclosures.

• Recommend that companies che content from the former Climate Disclosure Standards Board (CDSB) as a useful framework to identify sustainability risks and opportunities as well as disclosures.

The ISSB plans to issue the final Standards as early as possible in 2023.