Staff request for feedback to inform future development of the IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Taxonomy for digital reporting

The staff request for feedback outlines staff recommendations to inform the development of a taxonomy to enable digital consumption of sustainability disclosures prepared using the International Sustainability Standards Board’s (ISSB) IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards. The staff recommendations focus on fundamental matters that need to be considered early to enable the ISSB to publish the IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Taxonomy on a timely basis.

Reflecting the ISSB’s desire to develop a digital reporting strategy from the start, the staff is publishing the staff request for feedback to obtain feedback that will inform the development of a future proposed IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Taxonomy. The proposed Taxonomy will be formally consulted on in accordance with the IFRS Foundation’s due process. The aim is to publish the proposed Taxonomy for public consultation shortly after the ISSB issues its standards.

The ISSB’s plan responds to stakeholders commenting on the importance of considering digital consumption of sustainability disclosures from the outset, including the development of a taxonomy in parallel with the development of IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards.

In the same way the ISSB’s proposed standards incorporate and build on other organisations’ work, the staff draft builds on the SASB taxonomy.

A taxonomy enables companies to make their financial reports machine-readable, which in turn makes it easier for investors and others to digitally access, extract and compare the information they are interested in. It is not to be confused with taxonomies developed by jurisdictions to classify economic activities as environmentally sustainable.

The IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Taxonomy would be the counterpart to the IFRS Accounting Taxonomy developed to enable digital consumption of information provided by companies applying IFRS Accounting Standards issued by the International Accounting Standards Board.

Responses to the staff request for feedback are due by 30 September 2022 and can be provided by filling in an online form or by sending a comment letter.

The ISSB is consulting on its first two proposed IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards until 29 July 2022.

Access

• Staff Request for Feedback on the staff draft of the IFRS^® Sustainability Disclosure Taxonomy
• Staff draft of the IFRS^® Sustainability Disclosure Taxonomy: taxonomy package
• Staff draft of the IFRS^® Sustainability Disclosure Taxonomy: IFRS Taxonomy Illustrated in PDF