The International Sustainability Standards Board congratulates the Task Force on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) on the publication of its recommendations during New York Climate Week 2023.
The TNFD recommendations can help companies communicate nature-related risks and opportunities to investors and other stakeholders.
Consistent with the ISSB’s approach of building upon the work of market-led initiatives grounded in current-best practice and thinking, the ISSB will look to the TNFD recommendations—where it relates to meeting the information needs of investors—in its future work.
The ISSB has just concluded a public consultation on its future priorities, during which it sought feedback on potential research projects including whether to prioritise a project on biodiversity, ecosystems and ecosystem services. The ISSB is currently analysing the responses with a view to agreeing its future two-year workplan in the first half of 2024.
Furthermore, the ISSB is currently working on educational materials for disclosing the nature and social aspects of climate-related risks and opportunities.
TNFD Co-Chair David Craig and ISSB Vice-Chair Sue Lloyd will discuss how the TNFD and the ISSB are supporting effective disclosure of sustainability-related risks and opportunities during an event hosted during New York Climate Week on Wednesday 20 September.
David Craig said:
The TNFD supports the delivery of a global baseline of sustainability-related financial disclosures under the ISSB. We intend for the recommendations, which we believe can significantly advance the quality of reporting on nature-related risks, to inform the ISSB’s future standard setting.
As such, the TNFD developed the recommendations to be compatible with the ISSB Standards and has similarly grounded its work in the four content areas set out by the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) which has been embedded into the ISSB Standards.
Sue Lloyd said:
We congratulate the TNFD on this major milestone that will help investors understand the risks companies are facing when it comes to nature-related issues.
We are pleased to note the high-level of consistency within the finalised TNFD recommendations and the ISSB Standards, which both incorporate the architecture of the TCFD recommendations. We will consider the TNFD’s work—subject to the outcome of our recent consultation on future priorities—as we strive to simplify the disclosure landscape to deliver consistent, comprehensive sustainability-related disclosure for investors.