Shared evidence
Collect defined risks and metrics.
The standard-setter · IFRS Foundation
ISSB
The ISSB develops sustainability disclosure standards within the IFRS Foundation, while jurisdictions decide how to apply them.
The short answer
What the ISSB is, and what it is not
The ISSB develops sustainability disclosure standards within the IFRS Foundation, while jurisdictions decide how to apply them.
A standard-setter, not a regulatorRequirements and evidence
Module 01 / 03
Body
The International Sustainability Standards Board.
Module 02 / 03
Output
IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards.
Module 03 / 03
Application
Separate national adoption and reporting rules.
Read the detailed guidance and evidence
The International Sustainability Standards Board is the IFRS Foundation board that issued IFRS S1 and IFRS S2, the ISSB standards.
It was formed on 3 November 2021 and has issued two standards and one set of amendments.
This page covers the body: what it publishes and what weight each document carries, how widely its standards are used, and how they reach the UK.
The ISSB is a standard-setter, not a regulator: its standards bind nobody until a jurisdiction, regulator or exchange requires them.
It is part of the IFRS Foundation and “operates alongside—but independently from—the IASB”, which writes the accounting standards.
Its standards are IFRS S1, the general requirements, and IFRS S2, the climate standard, explained together on IFRS S1 and S2.
In the UK they reach companies as UK SRS, through endorsement, not directly.
2
IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards in issue
IFRS Foundation
40+
Jurisdictions that have decided to use or are taking steps to introduce them
IFRS Foundation, 18 June 2026
History
A brief history of the ISSB
The ISSB's establishment and first standards are separate milestones in the reporting architecture.
- 202101
The IFRS Foundation announced the ISSB at COP26.
- 202302
The board issued IFRS S1 and IFRS S2.
- 202403
The standards' international effective date began.
Read the detailed guidance and evidence
The IFRS Foundation Trustees announced the ISSB at COP26 in Glasgow on 3 November 2021, and its group page records what it built on.
That list is the Climate Disclosure Standards Board, the TCFD, the Value Reporting Foundation’s Integrated Reporting Framework, the SASB Standards and the World Economic Forum’s Stakeholder Capitalism Metrics.
The Value Reporting Foundation consolidated into the IFRS Foundation on 1 August 2022, and the ISSB now governs the SASB Standards.
The Integrated Reporting Framework continues; the council that oversaw it passed its mandate to the IFRS Advisory Council when its term ended on 31 July 2026 (consolidated organisations).
The TCFD disbanded on 12 October 2023; its own site says the FSB asked the IFRS Foundation to take over monitoring companies’ climate-related disclosures.
The ISSB issued IFRS S1 and S2 on 26 June 2023, and those standards now carry the TCFD’s four pillars, as the glossary and the IFRS hub set out.
- Dec 201501
TCFD established by the FSB
- 3 Nov 202102
ISSB formed at COP26
Announced by the IFRS Foundation Trustees.
- 1 Aug 202203
Value Reporting Foundation consolidated
The ISSB takes on the SASB Standards.
- 26 Jun 202304
IFRS S1 and S2 issued
- 12 Oct 202305
TCFD disbands
- 1 Jan 202406
IFRS S1 and S2 effective
- Dec 202507
IFRS S2 greenhouse gas amendments
- 25 Feb 202608
UK SRS S1 and S2 published in the UK
- Apr 202609
Nature to be a Practice Statement
- 31 Jul 202610
IRCC mandate moves to the Advisory Council
- 1 Jan 202711
IFRS S2 amendments apply
Weight
Standard, Practice Statement, education: three different weights
The standards address information about sustainability matters that could affect an entity's prospects.
Financially relevant sustainability informationRequirements and evidence
Module 01 / 03
Audience
Investors, lenders and other creditors.
Module 02 / 03
Question
Effects on cash flows, finance access or capital cost.
Module 03 / 03
Output
Decision-useful sustainability-related financial disclosures.
Read the detailed guidance and evidence
| Document | Due process | Does it change requirements? | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standard | Full, with exposure draft | Yes — it is the requirement | IFRS S1, IFRS S2 |
| Amendment to a Standard | Full | Yes, from its effective date | IFRS S2 GHG amendments, December 2025 |
| Practice Statement | Full, with exposure draft | No — “not a Standard”; a jurisdiction may mandate it | Nature-related disclosures, in development |
| Educational material | Staff document | No | Materiality guide, November 2024 |
| Taxonomy | Consulted | No — a tagging vocabulary | Proposed Update 1, July 2026 |
The ISSB’s own staff paper says a Practice Statement is non-mandatory and “not a Standard”, but is subject to full due process and can be mandated by a jurisdiction.
The Foundation says its taxonomy update “neither introduces new requirements nor affects a company’s compliance with ISSB Standards”.
It decides separately from GRI: the two boards’ joint statement of May 2026 says they “make decisions separately in accordance with their established standard-setting due processes”.
The standards
IFRS S1 and IFRS S2, in outline
IFRS S1 supplies the overarching reporting requirements and IFRS S2 supplies climate-specific disclosures.
General requirements and climate detailRequirements and evidence
Module 01 / 03
S1
Materiality, connected information and general requirements.
Module 02 / 03
S2
Climate risks, resilience, emissions and metrics.
Module 03 / 03
Together
Read both standards' application provisions.
Read the detailed guidance and evidence
IFRS S1 sets the general requirements and applies to every sustainability-related risk and opportunity that could reasonably be expected to affect an entity’s prospects.
IFRS S2 applies them to climate, with scenario analysis and absolute gross Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions.
Both use single, financial materiality: effects on cash flows, access to finance or cost of capital.
Paragraph-level detail is on IFRS S1 and IFRS S2.
| IFRS S1 | IFRS S2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Covers | All sustainability-related risks and opportunities | Climate |
| Adds | Materiality, sources of guidance, location, timing | Scenario analysis, Scope 1–3, seven metric categories |
| Effective | 1 January 2024 | 1 January 2024; amendments 1 January 2027 |
Latest changes
December 2025: the only amendment so far
The December 2025 IFRS S2 amendments apply from annual periods beginning on 1 January 2027, with early application permitted.
- Change01
Read the greenhouse-gas disclosure amendments.
- Date02
Apply the stated effective-date provision.
- Jurisdiction03
Check whether local endorsement incorporates the changes.
Read the detailed guidance and evidence
The ISSB issued targeted amendments to IFRS S2 in December 2025; IFRS S2 ¶C1B applies them for annual reporting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2027, with earlier application permitted.
They let an entity limit Scope 3 Category 15 to its financed emissions (¶29A), require the total Category 15 figure and the financed subtotal (¶29C), and widen the jurisdictional reliefs for measurement method and global warming potential values.
They also replace a fixed industry classification for financed emissions with the entity’s own choice, explained (¶¶B62A, B63A).
The Foundation says they were “developed in response to implementation challenges” and provide reliefs and clarifications rather than new duties.
They are the ISSB’s changes; the UK did not make them, and UK SRS S2 includes them as made.
Use around the world
Adoption counts, and what each one counts
Use the IFRS Foundation's jurisdiction resources to identify each country's status without assuming identical scope or dates.
Adoption differs by jurisdictionRequirements and evidence
Module 01 / 03
Commitment
Identify announced intention or roadmap.
Module 02 / 03
Endorsement
Identify the adopted standard text.
Module 03 / 03
Application
Identify entities, periods and local reliefs.
Read the detailed guidance and evidence
| The owner’s words | As at | What it measures | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| “Over 40 jurisdictions have already decided to use or are taking steps to introduce ISSB Standards” | 18 June 2026 | Intention and process — not reporting | CMAC and GPF update |
| “Requirements in 19 jurisdictions have already come into effect” | 24 February 2026 | Requirements in force | Readiness guide news |
| Jurisdictions accounting for “more than 40% of global market capitalisation” | 28 May 2024 | A floor, not a point figure | IFRS Foundation news |
| Profiles for final approaches; snapshots for approaches in progress | Current register | Status by jurisdiction — the UK is a snapshot | Use by jurisdiction |
“Taking steps towards” is not “companies must report”, and a count of the first should not be quoted as the second.
Through 2026 the direction of travel also stopped being uniform: Brazil’s securities regulator revoked mandatory reporting for public companies in May 2026, while South Korea’s Financial Services Commission agreed in July 2026 to lower the threshold for its first mandatory cohort — a policy decision, not yet a statute.
The standard has spread; the mandate has not settled.
Named jurisdictions and their classifications are set out on IFRS S1 and S2.
The UK route
ISSB standards and UK SRS
UK SRS draws on IFRS S1 and S2 with UK amendments, while final application rules determine reporting obligations.
UK SRS is a UK-endorsed textRequirements and evidence
Module 01 / 03
International baseline
Read IFRS S1 and S2.
Module 02 / 03
UK endorsement
Read UK SRS S1 and S2.
Module 03 / 03
Reporting duty
Check the FCA or other operative application route.
Read the detailed guidance and evidence
New or amended ISSB standards “would not automatically apply in the UK”; each goes through the UK’s endorsement process first.
The endorsement framework splits the work between a Technical Advisory Committee and a Policy and Implementation Committee.
IFRS S1 and S2 came through it as UK SRS S1 and S2 on 25 February 2026, with the differences listed in Annex A, which carries no count; six amendments were proposed in June 2025, and that is not a count of what landed.
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 for accounting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2027, finalising the CP26/5 consultation.
The differences are set out on UK SRS against IFRS S1 and S2, the UK standards on the UK SRS hub, and the pair on the sister site’s UK SRS S1 and S2.
| Step | Who |
|---|---|
| ISSB issues or amends a standard | ISSB, after full due process |
| Technical assessment and recommendation | Technical Advisory Committee, with an FRC secretariat |
| Policy and implementation questions | Policy and Implementation Committee |
| Consultation on UK amendments | Department for Business and Trade |
| Standards issued as UK SRS | Secretary of State for Business and Trade |
| Any requirement to report | The FCA, or Parliament through the Companies Act |
Work plan
What the ISSB is working on
The ISSB's work on nature and human capital should be described by its current project stage rather than as completed disclosure standards.
Research is not an issued standardRequirements and evidence
Module 01 / 03
Project
Read the current IFRS work-plan entry.
Module 02 / 03
Proposal
Distinguish consultation material from final text.
Module 03 / 03
Requirement
Wait for issued provisions and applicable dates.
Read the detailed guidance and evidence
On nature, the ISSB decided in April 2026 to propose requirements and guidance as an IFRS Practice Statement; its work plan records permission to ballot in July 2026, with an exposure draft targeted for October 2026 and a 120-day comment period.
Its Chair has said that material nature-related disclosure is already required by IFRS S1; the Practice Statement will guide how.
Active projects on the IFRS S2 page include amendments to the Industry-based Guidance and enhancements to the SASB Standards.
Human capital is a research project whose direction had not been decided at the ISSB’s July 2026 meeting.
None of this will apply in the UK until it has been endorsed.
Frequently asked
The ISSB: frequently asked
What is the ISSB?
The International Sustainability Standards Board is the IFRS Foundation board that writes the IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards.
The Foundation's Trustees announced it on 3 November 2021 at COP26 in Glasgow, and it operates alongside, but independently from, the IASB, which writes the IFRS Accounting Standards.
It has issued two standards, IFRS S1 and IFRS S2, and it maintains the SASB Standards.
What standards has the ISSB issued?
Two: IFRS S1 General Requirements for Disclosure of Sustainability-related Financial Information and IFRS S2 Climate-related Disclosures, both issued on 26 June 2023 and effective for annual periods beginning on or after 1 January 2024.
It amended IFRS S2 in December 2025, with the changes applying from 1 January 2027.
It also maintains the SASB Standards, which it took over when the Value Reporting Foundation consolidated into the IFRS Foundation in August 2022.
What are the latest changes to the ISSB standards?
The December 2025 Amendments to Greenhouse Gas Emissions Disclosures to IFRS S2, which apply from 1 January 2027: a permitted limitation of Scope 3 Category 15 to financed emissions, a new disclosure of total Category 15 emissions and the financed subtotal, wider jurisdictional reliefs on measurement method and global warming potential values, and a free choice of industry-classification system for financed emissions.
In 2026 the ISSB decided to address nature through a Practice Statement rather than a new standard, and proposed a taxonomy update that changes no requirement.
How many jurisdictions have adopted ISSB Standards?
The IFRS Foundation's own wording, on 18 June 2026, is that over 40 jurisdictions 'have already decided to use or are taking steps to introduce ISSB Standards'.
On 24 February 2026 it said requirements had already come into effect in 19 jurisdictions.
The first number is not a count of places where companies must report; the second is closer to it.
The Foundation's register lists profiles for final approaches and snapshots for those still in progress, and the UK is a snapshot.
Did the ISSB take over the TCFD?
Not as a merger.
The TCFD disbanded on 12 October 2023 after its final status report, and the FSB asked for monitoring of companies' climate-related disclosures to be taken over from 2024 — the TCFD's own site names the IFRS Foundation, and the FSB's press releases name the ISSB.
IFRS S2 is consistent with the TCFD's four recommendations and eleven disclosures, and adds industry metrics, planned carbon credits and financed emissions.
Is an ISSB Practice Statement a standard?
No. The ISSB's own staff paper describes a Practice Statement as non-mandatory and 'not a Standard', so applying it is not needed to state compliance with IFRS Standards.
Unlike educational material, it goes through full due process, and a jurisdiction can choose to mandate it.
The ISSB's nature-related work is taking this form.
How do UK SRS relate to ISSB Standards?
UK SRS S1 and S2 are IFRS S1 and S2, as amended by the ISSB in December 2025, endorsed for the UK with the differences listed in Annex A of the government's consultation response.
They were issued by the Secretary of State for Business and Trade on 25 February 2026 for voluntary use.
New or amended ISSB standards do not apply in the UK automatically; each goes through UK endorsement first.
Are ISSB Standards mandatory in the UK?
No UK law requires the ISSB's standards by name.
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 — the UK-endorsed versions — on a comply-or-explain basis for accounting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2027, with first reports in 2028.
Fictional example
A fictional cross-border group
A fictional group separates a common data model from its different jurisdictional reporting outputs.
Group scope
Local scope
Check each applicable reporting population.
Outputs
Apply the endorsed text and local reliefs.
Read the detailed guidance and evidence
A fictional group separates a common data model from its different jurisdictional reporting outputs.
Editorial preparation
Read status before requirements
An editorial source sequence prevents an announced project from becoming an invented reporting obligation.
- 1
Work plan
Check the current project stage.
- 2
Issued text
Read the actual standard or amendment.
- 3
Application
Check endorsement and operative reporting rules.
Read the detailed guidance and evidence
An editorial source sequence prevents an announced project from becoming an invented reporting obligation.
Prepare the evidence
ISSB: 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: International Sustainability Standards Board — group page
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.
Trace the answerScope → evidence → review
Module 01 / 04
Applicability record
Write down the entity, reporting route and relevant period, including why the route applies.
Module 02 / 04
Evidence register
Attach each reported figure or statement to its source, method, version and limitations.
Module 03 / 04
Review trail
Name the preparer, reviewer, open questions and decisions taken before publication.
Module 04 / 04
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 figure, date and status on this page traces to the instrument’s owner.
Secondary commentary is never the source for a number.
Checked against 25 sources fromIFRS FoundationGRI and IFRS FoundationTCFDComissão de Valores Mobiliários (Brazil)Financial Services Commission (South Korea)Financial Reporting Council
- IFRS FoundationInternational Sustainability Standards Board — group page
Formed 3 November 2021 at COP26; the initiatives it built on.
- IFRS FoundationWho we are
The ISSB “operates alongside—but independently from—the IASB”.
- IFRS FoundationIFRS Foundation — home
- IFRS FoundationIFRS Foundation completes consolidation with the Value Reporting Foundation, 1 August 2022
The ISSB “now governs the SASB Standards”.
- IFRS FoundationConsolidated organisations
The IRCC mandate moved to the Advisory Council on 31 July 2026; the Integrated Reporting Framework continues.
- IFRS FoundationISSB issues IFRS S1 and IFRS S2 — issuance announcement, 26 June 2023
- IFRS FoundationISSB issues targeted amendments to IFRS S2, December 2025
- IFRS FoundationIFRS S2, December 2025 text (free HTML), ¶¶C1A–C1B
Which paragraphs the amendments changed; effective 1 January 2027.
- IFRS FoundationUse of IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards by jurisdiction
Profiles (final) and snapshots (in progress).
- IFRS FoundationISSB update to the CMAC and GPF, 18 June 2026 (PDF)
“Over 40 jurisdictions have already decided to use or are taking steps to introduce ISSB Standards.”
- IFRS FoundationJurisdictional Readiness Assessment Guide and tool, 24 February 2026
“Requirements in 19 jurisdictions have already come into effect.”
- IFRS FoundationJurisdictions representing over half the global economy by GDP take steps towards ISSB Standards, 28 May 2024
“More than 40% of global market capitalisation.”
- IFRS FoundationNature-related Disclosures — ISSB work plan
- IFRS FoundationISSB Staff Paper AP3D, April 2026, ¶¶55, 58
A Practice Statement “is not a Standard”, is subject to full due process, and a jurisdiction can choose to mandate it.
- IFRS FoundationISSB proposes update to the IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Taxonomy, 29 July 2026
- GRI and IFRS FoundationFacilitating efficient reporting when using the GRI and ISSB Standards, 26 May 2026
The two boards “make decisions separately”.
- TCFDfsb-tcfd.org — disbanding notice
Disbanded 12 October 2023; the FSB asked the IFRS Foundation to take over monitoring.
- Comissão de Valores Mobiliários (Brazil)CVM altera Resolução 193 para revogar obrigatoriedade…, 29 May 2026
- Financial Services Commission (South Korea)ESG disclosure roadmap, 8 July 2026
A policy decision; the enabling amendment was not confirmed passed.
- Financial Reporting CouncilSustainability reporting developments: frequently asked questions
New ISSB standards “would not automatically apply in the UK”.
- Department for Business and TradeFramework for developing UK Sustainability Reporting Standards
- Department for Business and TradeUK SRS S1 and UK SRS S2, published 25 February 2026
- Department for Business and TradeUK SRS consultation response, Annex A
- Financial Conduct AuthorityPS26/19: Aligning listed issuers' sustainability disclosures with international standards
- Financial Conduct AuthorityCP26/5 — the consultation PS26/19 finalises
Continue reading
Read next
The section
IFRS sustainability standards
The front door to the global standards: what is in issue, where to read it free, and the UK route.
The standards
IFRS S1 and S2
How the pair interlocks, their effective dates, and named jurisdictions.
The UK differences
UK SRS against IFRS S1 and S2
Annex A row by row.