IFRS S1 · General requirements · the standard as the ISSB issued it
IFRS s1
IFRS S1 General Requirements for Disclosure of Sustainability-related Financial Information is the ISSB’s general standard, issued in June 2023.
IFRS S2 covers climate; IFRS S1 covers every sustainability-related risk and opportunity that could affect an entity’s prospects, including the many with no standard of their own.
What to do in that gap is set out in paragraphs 54 to 58, and it is the least-read part of the Standard.
What it is
What IFRS S1 asks of a preparer
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Issued
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Effective
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Applied with
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Materiality
| IFRS S1 | |
|---|---|
| Issued | June 2023, by the ISSB |
| Effective | Annual periods from 1 January 2024; early application only with IFRS S2 |
| Applied with | IFRS S2 — S1 sets the frame, S2 is its first topic |
| Materiality | Single, financial: could it influence primary users’ decisions? |
| Accounting basis | Any — IFRS Accounting Standards or other GAAP (¶8) |
| Read it free | Full text, no sign-in |
Read the detailed guidance and evidence
IFRS S1 paragraph 3 requires an entity to disclose information about all sustainability-related risks and opportunities that could reasonably be expected to affect its cash flows, its access to finance or cost of capital over the short, medium or long term.
The word carrying the weight is “all”.
Climate has its own standard; water, biodiversity, labour, supply chains and governance topics do not, and S1 still requires them where they are material.
Paragraph 4 adds the second job: S1 prescribes how the disclosures are prepared and reported, so it governs S2’s presentation too.
It was issued on 26 June 2023 with IFRS S2, and the pair are explained together on IFRS S1 and S2.
This page is about the Standard as the ISSB issued it; the UK’s amended version is UK SRS S1.
Scope
Who S1 is for, and what is outside it
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Disclosure
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Value chain
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Boundary
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Standard
Read the detailed guidance and evidence
Paragraph 1 states the objective: information that is useful to primary users of general purpose financial reports in making decisions about providing resources to the entity.
Paragraph 2 explains why: an entity’s ability to generate cash flows is “inextricably linked” to its interactions with stakeholders, society, the economy and the natural environment across its value chain.
Paragraph 6 draws the boundary: risks and opportunities that could not reasonably be expected to affect the entity’s prospects are outside the Standard.
Paragraph 8 lets any entity apply it, whether its financial statements follow IFRS Accounting Standards or another GAAP.
Paragraph 9 notes that not-for-profit and public-sector users may need to adapt some descriptions.
The ISSB’s own introduction to the standards describes S1 as the set of general requirements for communicating to investors about sustainability-related risks and opportunities.
The test
Material to whom — and the cost limit on finding out
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Materiality
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Materiality · 2
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Key point 03
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Materiality · 3
That a topic with serious environmental or social impact is automatically material under IFRS S1.
Not on that basis alone: S1’s test is whether the information could influence an investor, lender or creditor.
The impact lens belongs to GRI and to the EU’s double materiality.
Read the detailed guidance and evidence
Paragraph 17 requires an entity to disclose material information about the risks and opportunities that could reasonably be expected to affect its prospects.
Paragraph 18 defines it: information is material if omitting, misstating or obscuring it could reasonably be expected to influence decisions that primary users of general purpose financial reports make on the basis of those reports.
Primary users are existing and potential investors, lenders and other creditors, which is narrower than “stakeholders”.
Paragraph 14 calls materiality an entity-specific aspect of relevance, judged by the nature or magnitude of the item, or both.
Paragraph 19 points to paragraphs B13 to B37 for how to apply it.
The search is bounded: S1 asks for all reasonable and supportable information available at the reporting date without undue cost or effort.
The EU’s standards add an impact limb on top, as set out on the European Sustainability Reporting Standards.
Worked answer
Does IFRS S1 stop at the consolidated group?
A reporting entity and its value chain answer different questions: the first identifies whose prospects are being reported on, while the second helps identify what could affect those prospects.
| Part of the example | Situation | Useful response |
|---|---|---|
| Consolidated accounts | A fictional manufacturer reports its parent and subsidiaries together. | Start with that same reporting entity for the sustainability disclosures. |
| Supplier outside the group | An independent supplier provides a component that could disrupt production. | Assess the dependency even though the supplier is not consolidated. |
| The disclosure | Explain the exposure and response of the reporting group. | Do not present the supplier as a subsidiary or limit the risk search to owned sites. |
This fictional example concerns the reporting boundary, not a conclusion that every supplier issue is material.
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Entity
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Dependency
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Effect
Architecture
The four areas, for any sustainability topic
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Governance
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Strategy
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Risk management
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Metrics and targets
| Area (¶25) | Paragraphs | What is disclosed |
|---|---|---|
| Governance | ¶¶26–27 | The processes, controls and procedures used to monitor, manage and oversee sustainability-related risks and opportunities |
| Strategy | ¶¶28–42 | The risks and opportunities, their effects on business model, value chain, strategy and finances, and resilience |
| Risk management | ¶¶43–44 | How risks and opportunities are identified, assessed, prioritised and monitored |
| Metrics and targets | ¶¶45–53 | Performance, including progress towards targets set or required by law |
Read the detailed guidance and evidence
Paragraph 25 organises every disclosure into governance, strategy, risk management, and metrics and targets.
They are the four areas the TCFD recommendations set out for climate, applied here to any sustainability topic.
IFRS S2 uses the same four for climate, so building them once for S2 gives the shape S1 needs, not the scope.
Paragraph 53 asks that metrics are labelled and defined with meaningful, clear and precise names.
Appendix D sets the qualitative characteristics the information must meet: relevance and faithful representation are fundamental; comparability, verifiability, timeliness and understandability enhance them.
How those characteristics compare with GRI’s reporting principles and the TCFD’s seven principles is set out on the principles of sustainability reporting.
The gap
What to do when no standard covers the topic
There are two IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards and far more than two material topics.
Paragraphs 54 to 58 answer that as a hierarchy, and the difference between “shall” and “may” in it is doing real work.
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1
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2
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3
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3 · 2
Read the detailed guidance and evidence
| Tier | Source | Obligation | Paragraph |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | An IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standard that specifically applies | Shall apply | ¶54, ¶56 |
| 2 | SASB Standards | Shall refer to and consider the disclosure topics and their metrics — and may conclude they do not apply | ¶55(a), ¶58(a) |
| 3 | CDSB Framework Application Guidance (water and biodiversity) | May refer to and consider | ¶55(b)(i), ¶58(b)(i) |
| 3 | The most recent pronouncements of other standard-setters writing for users of general purpose financial reports | May, if they do not conflict | ¶55(b)(ii), ¶58(b)(ii) |
| 3 | What entities in the same industry or region identify and disclose | May, if it does not conflict | ¶55(b)(iii), ¶58(b)(iii) |
| 4 | GRI Standards and the ESRS | May, if they help meet the objective and do not conflict | ¶58(c), Appendix C |
| — | Disclose the sources applied, and the industry used | Shall | ¶59 |
Paragraph 57 is the rule underneath: in the absence of an applicable standard, the entity uses judgement to identify information that is relevant to users’ decisions and faithfully represents the risk or opportunity.
The SASB tier is the only one phrased “shall”, and it is a duty to consider, not to adopt.
Appendix C names the GRI Standards and the European Sustainability Reporting Standards as permitted sources; paragraph C3 says an entity that applies them without applying the ISSB requirements may not claim unreserved compliance.
That is permission to consult GRI or the ESRS, whose technical adviser is EFRAG, not permission to substitute them.
Paragraph 75(b) lists the choice of sources as one of the judgements an entity must explain.
In UK SRS S1 the SASB tier became “may”, but paragraph 59 still requires the entity to say which sources it used.
Transition
The Appendix E reliefs, in the first year only
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¶E1
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¶E3
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¶E4
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¶E5
| IFRS S1 | Relief |
|---|---|
| ¶E1 | Effective for periods from 1 January 2024; early application only with IFRS S2 |
| ¶E3 | No comparative information in the first annual period |
| ¶E4 | Publish the first year’s disclosures after the financial statements — with the half-year report, or within nine months |
| ¶E5 | Climate only in the first year, disclosed as such |
| ¶E6 | If ¶E5 is used: no climate comparatives in year one; no non-climate comparatives in year two |
Read the detailed guidance and evidence
The transition reliefs sit in Appendix E and run from the date of initial application — the start of the first annual period in which the entity applies the Standard (¶E2).
Paragraph E5 is the reason “start with climate, add the rest later” is a legitimate strategy rather than a shortcut.
The ISSB’s educational material on the climate-first approach says the relief temporarily narrows S1’s scope to climate and does not otherwise alter its requirements.
Paragraph E4 is the timing relief: in year one, the disclosures may follow the financial statements, reported with the next half-year report or within nine months of the year end.
The UK removed ¶E4 altogether and took the time limit off the climate-first relief, which in UK SRS S1 is ¶E3.
A bare “¶E3” therefore means two different things in the two standards.
Location
Where the disclosures actually go
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Same entity
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Connected
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Consistent data
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Same currency
| Constraint | IFRS S1 |
|---|---|
| Same entity | The reporting entity of the related financial statements (¶20) |
| Connected | Connections within the disclosures and to the financial statements explained (¶21) |
| Consistent data | Data and assumptions consistent with the financial statements, so far as possible (¶23) |
| Same currency | The presentation currency of the financial statements (¶24) |
| Same report | Part of general purpose financial reports (¶60) |
| Same time, same period | Reported with the financial statements, for the same period (¶64) |
| Cross-reference | Permitted, subject to ¶¶B45–B47 (¶63) |
Read the detailed guidance and evidence
Paragraph 60 requires the disclosures to be provided as part of the entity’s general purpose financial reports — the same package as the accounts, not a separate sustainability report published later.
Paragraph 61 names the likely homes: management commentary, the management report, the operating and financial review, an integrated report, or the strategic report.
Paragraph 62 allows them to sit beside information required by regulators, provided they are clearly identifiable and not obscured.
Paragraph 64 requires them at the same time as the related financial statements, covering the same period.
Paragraph 72 governs the claim: only disclosures that meet every requirement may carry an explicit and unreserved statement of compliance.
Paragraph 73 relieves an entity from disclosing what law prohibits, and from disclosing commercially sensitive information about an opportunity, without losing the right to claim compliance.
The pair
IFRS S1 against IFRS S2
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Scope
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Role
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Materiality
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Presentation, location, timing
Read the detailed guidance and evidence
| IFRS S1 | IFRS S2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Scope | All sustainability-related risks and opportunities | Climate only |
| Role | General requirements | The first topic standard |
| Materiality | Defined here (¶18) | Uses S1 |
| Presentation, location, timing | Defined here (¶¶54–73) | Uses S1 |
| Scenario analysis | Resilience disclosure (¶¶41–42) | Required for climate resilience (¶22) |
| Emissions | — | Absolute gross Scope 1, 2 and 3 (¶29(a)) |
| Effective | 1 January 2024 (¶E1) | 1 January 2024 (¶C1) |
The two are applied together: each standard’s effective-date paragraph requires the other at the same time.
IFRS S2 is read at the paragraph on IFRS S2, and the ISSB that issued both on the ISSB guide.
What comes next
Nature is arriving under S1 — not as an S3
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Standard
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Proposal
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Key point 03
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Materiality
- Nov 202501
ISSB decides to undertake standard-setting on nature
- Apr 202602
Form decided: an IFRS Practice Statement
All 12 ISSB members agreed.
- 21 Jul 202603
Permission to ballot
A 120-day comment period set.
- Oct 202604
Exposure draft targeted
Read the detailed guidance and evidence
The obvious question about a general standard is which topic gets a standard of its own next, and for a long time the assumed answer was nature.
In April 2026 the ISSB decided to propose nature-related requirements and guidance as an IFRS Practice Statement, not as a new Standard.
A Practice Statement is non-mandatory and does not change the requirements in IFRS S1 or S2, though a jurisdiction can choose to mandate it.
The ISSB’s Chair has said that providing material nature-related disclosures is not optional, because IFRS S1 already requires it.
The work plan records permission to ballot in July 2026, with an exposure draft targeted for October 2026.
Until the Practice Statement exists, nature is exactly the kind of topic paragraphs 54 to 58 were written for, and the CDSB biodiversity guidance is a named source in ¶55(b)(i).
In the UK
IFRS S1 in the UK: UK SRS S1, and the duties beside it
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Key point 01
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Reliefs
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Listed categories
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Comply or explain
Read the detailed guidance and evidence
The UK endorsed IFRS S1 as UK SRS S1, published by the Department for Business and Trade on 25 February 2026, with no effective date.
Annex A lists the differences: SASB references become “may” at ¶¶55(a) and 58(a), ¶E4 is removed, the climate-first relief loses its time limit, and UK SRS S1 ¶73A bars a climate-only reporter from asserting compliance with UK SRS S1.
The FCA’s final rules of 30 September 2026 require listed companies in UKLR 6, 14, 15, 16 and 22 to report against UK SRS on a comply-or-explain basis from accounting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2027, with two years’ relief from disclosing S1 non-climate matters.
The CP26/5 consultation had proposed UK SRS S1 on a comply-or-explain basis from 2029; the final rules apply it from 2027 and give the two-year non-climate relief instead (the consultation page keeps the proposal on record).
Beside UK SRS sit the duties that do bind: the climate-related financial disclosures in Companies Act 2006 section 414CB, energy and carbon reporting under SI 2018/1155 with the government’s Environmental Reporting Guidelines, and energy audits under the ESOS Regulations and the Environment Agency’s ESOS guidance.
Those are covered on SECR thresholds and the ESOS hub.
Assurance is voluntary; the FRC’s ISSA (UK) 5000 governs how an engagement is performed if one is commissioned.
The UK standard is explained on UK SRS S1 and its climate twin on UK SRS S2; the framework it inherited its four areas from is compared on UK SRS against TCFD, and the sister site keeps its own UK SRS S1 reference.
Frequently asked
IFRS S1: frequently asked
What is IFRS S1?
IFRS S1 General Requirements for Disclosure of Sustainability-related Financial Information is the ISSB's general standard, issued in June 2023.
It requires an entity to disclose information about all sustainability-related risks and opportunities that could reasonably be expected to affect its cash flows, its access to finance or cost of capital over the short, medium or long term, and it sets how those disclosures are prepared and reported: materiality, the four areas of disclosure, sources of guidance, location, timing and the statement of compliance.
When is IFRS S1 effective?
For annual reporting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2024, under paragraph E1.
Earlier application is permitted, but an entity that applies IFRS S1 early must disclose that fact and apply IFRS S2 at the same time.
The UK version, UK SRS S1, has no effective date.
What materiality does IFRS S1 use?
Single, financial materiality.
Paragraph 18 says information is material if omitting, misstating or obscuring it could reasonably be expected to influence decisions that primary users of general purpose financial reports make on the basis of those reports.
Primary users are existing and potential investors, lenders and other creditors.
Appendix D calls materiality an entity-specific aspect of relevance.
The impact limb belongs to GRI and to the EU's double materiality, not to IFRS S1.
What are the qualitative characteristics in IFRS S1?
Appendix D sets two fundamental characteristics — relevance and faithful representation — and four enhancing characteristics: comparability, verifiability, timeliness and understandability.
A faithful representation is complete, neutral and accurate.
The enhancing characteristics improve information that is already relevant and faithfully represented; they cannot rescue information that is not.
What does IFRS S1 require when there is no standard for a topic?
Paragraphs 54 to 58 set a hierarchy.
The entity applies any IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standard that specifically applies.
In addition it shall refer to and consider the applicability of the SASB Standards' disclosure topics (paragraph 55(a)) and their metrics (paragraph 58(a)), and may refer to the CDSB Framework Application Guidance, the most recent pronouncements of other investor-focused standard-setters, and what peers in the same industry or region disclose — so long as they do not conflict with the ISSB Standards.
Paragraph 59 then requires the entity to identify the sources it used.
Can you use GRI or ESRS alongside IFRS S1?
Yes, as sources of guidance.
Appendix C names the GRI Standards and the European Sustainability Reporting Standards as sources an entity may refer to and consider, to the extent they help meet the Standard's objective and do not conflict with the ISSB Standards.
Paragraph C3 adds the limit: an entity that applies them without applying the ISSB requirements may not make an explicit and unreserved statement of compliance with IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards.
Are there examples of IFRS S1 disclosures?
The ISSB publishes Illustrative Guidance and Illustrative Examples for IFRS S1 as accompanying guidance in Part B of the issued edition; they accompany the Standard but are not part of it.
The ISSB has also published educational material, such as its January 2025 guidance on applying IFRS S1 when reporting only climate-related disclosures under IFRS S2.
Where do IFRS S1 disclosures have to be published?
As part of the entity's general purpose financial reports (paragraph 60), for example in management commentary or, in the UK, the strategic report.
They are reported at the same time as the related financial statements and cover the same reporting period (paragraph 64), and they may include information by cross-reference to another report if the conditions in paragraphs B45 to B47 are met.
Is IFRS S1 mandatory in the UK?
No. The UK version is UK SRS S1, published on 25 February 2026 and voluntary for any entity.
Under the FCA's final rules (PS26/19, 30 September 2026), listed companies in UKLR 6, 14, 15, 16 and 22 must report against UK SRS on a comply-or-explain basis for accounting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2027, with a two-year relief from disclosing UK SRS S1 non-climate matters; a company using it says so.
Prepare the evidence
IFRS s1: from a requirement to a reporting pack
Use this preparation sequence alongside the detailed requirements on this page.
An editorial workflow, not a statutory schedule.
- Stage 0101
Applicable text
Identify the standards and edition the organisation is using.
- Stage 0202
Reporting boundary
Align the reporting entity, period and connected financial information.
- Stage 0303
Materiality assessment
Document which sustainability risks and opportunities affect the disclosure.
- Stage 0404
Four content areas
Build the governance, strategy, risk management and metrics evidence.
- Stage 0505
Methods and judgements
Explain the assumptions, estimates, uncertainty and comparative treatment.
- Stage 0606
Statement and approval
Check what the final report can accurately say about its compliance.
Read the applicable instrument: IFRS S1 General Requirements — full text, June 2023 edition (free HTML)
A practical brief
An evidence pack, with a clear review trail
Ask for a pack that lets the next reviewer retrace the scope decision, follow the evidence and understand the limitations.
This describes a useful handover; it does not certify compliance or establish that a vendor or adviser delivers it.
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Applicability record
Write down the entity, reporting route and relevant period, including why the route applies.
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Evidence register
Attach each reported figure or statement to its source, method, version and limitations.
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Review trail
Name the preparer, reviewer, open questions and decisions taken before publication.
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Usable handover
Retain the working files and unresolved actions so the next reporting cycle can reuse the evidence.
View the preparation diagram
- Prepare01
Create the traceable pack
Keep the input records, calculation files and narrative together.
- Challenge02
Resolve questions before publication
Record the assumptions challenged and any limitations still unresolved.
- Retain03
Make the next cycle reproducible
Keep the approved version and the actions carried forward.
Continue your research
Related guides, one question at a time
Sources
Primary sources
Every requirement on this page is cited to its paragraph in IFRS S1, which the IFRS Foundation publishes free and without a sign-in.
Where the Standard distinguishes “shall” from “may”, this page keeps the distinction.
- IFRS FoundationIFRS S1 General Requirements — full text, June 2023 edition (free HTML)
¶¶1–4 objective, ¶17–19 materiality, ¶25 core content, ¶¶54–59 sources of guidance, ¶¶60–73 location, timing and compliance, Appendices C, D and E. The “2025” in the URL is the bundle year, not the edition.
- IFRS FoundationIFRS S1 — Navigator standard page
Effective 1 January 2024, earlier application “as long as IFRS S2 … is also applied”.
- IFRS FoundationIFRS Sustainability Standards Navigator
Registration gives the PDFs; the HTML text above needs none.
- IFRS FoundationISSB issues IFRS S1 and IFRS S2 — issuance announcement, 26 June 2023
- IFRS FoundationInternational Sustainability Standards Board
- IFRS FoundationIntroduction to the ISSB and IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards
- IFRS FoundationApplying IFRS S1 when reporting only climate-related disclosures in accordance with IFRS S2, January 2025
The climate-first relief in ¶E5 “temporarily narrows the scope” of IFRS S1 and does not otherwise alter it.
- IFRS FoundationISSB agrees proposed way forward on nature-related disclosures
A Practice Statement, not a new Standard.
- IFRS FoundationNature-related Disclosures — ISSB work plan
The project page; its URL still carries the old research-project name.
- IFRS FoundationSASB Standards
The disclosure topics ¶55(a) and ¶58(a) say an entity “shall refer to and consider”.
- GRIGRI 1: Foundation 2021
Named, with the ESRS, in IFRS S1 Appendix C.
- GRIThe GRI Standards
- EFRAGEFRAG — sustainability reporting
- TCFDTCFD recommendations (fsb-tcfd.org)
The four areas IFRS S1 ¶25 carries.
- Department for Business and TradeUK SRS S1 and UK SRS S2, published 25 February 2026
- Department for Business and TradeUK SRS S1 — General requirements (PDF), ¶¶55, 58, 73A, E3
- Department for Business and TradeUK SRS consultation response, Annex A (IFRS S1 vs UK SRS S1)
- Financial Conduct AuthorityPS26/19: Aligning listed issuers' sustainability disclosures with international standards
Comply or explain across UK SRS from accounting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2027; two years’ relief for S1 non-climate matters (¶3.14).
- Financial Conduct AuthorityCP26/5 — the consultation PS26/19 finalises (PDF)
- Financial Conduct AuthorityCP26/5 — consultation page
- Financial Reporting CouncilAssurance standards — ISSA (UK) 5000, published 12 November 2025
- legislation.gov.ukCompanies Act 2006, section 414CB
The climate-related financial disclosures in the strategic report.
- legislation.gov.ukSI 2018/1155 — the instrument that created SECR
- legislation.gov.ukSI 2014/1643 — the ESOS Regulations
- Department for Energy Security and Net ZeroEnvironmental Reporting Guidelines, March 2019
- Environment AgencyEnergy Savings Opportunity Scheme (ESOS) — guidance
Continue reading
Read next
IFRS S2, paragraph by paragraph
Paragraphs 6, 10, 22, 29(a) and 29(f), read at the provision.
IFRS S1 and S2
How the two standards interlock, their effective dates against UK SRS, and who uses them.
UK SRS S1
The UK version of IFRS S1, with its untimed climate-first relief.