Volume 1 – January 2023

We are pleased to share with you the following key updates.

Global News

1. ISSB announces guidance and reliefs to support Scope 3 GHG emission disclosures
   The guidance and reliefs are intended to assist businesses in embedding and improving their processes for measuring and disclosing Scope 3 GHG emissions.

   The ISSB agreed to reliefs, including a temporary exemption for a minimum of one year following the effective date of S2, to give companies time to implement their processes.

2. ISSB describes concept of sustainability and its articulation with financial value creation plus plans on natural ecosystems and just transition
   The ISSB agreed on how to define sustainability in its session on December 13, 2022, and clarified that a company’s ability to deliver value to its investors is inextricably linked to the stakeholders it works with and serves, the society in which it operates, and the natural resources it draws on.

   Furthermore, to address the strong feedback received on the relationship between climate and nature, the ISSB will take into account the work of the Taskforce for Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) as well as other existing nature-related standards and disclosures where they relate to the information needs of investors.

3. ISSB confirms requirement to use climate-related scenario analysis
   Companies will be required to use climate-related scenario analysis to inform resilience analysis, according to the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB).

   The ISSB voted at its supplementary board meeting on November 1, 2022 to confirm that companies must use climate-related scenario analysis to report on climate resilience and to identify climate-related risks and opportunities to support their disclosures.

4. Revised GRI Universal Standards come into effect from 1 January
   The revision of the Universal Standards, which was announced in October 2021, was the most significant update to the GRI Standards since its inception six years ago. With a focus on making reporting more relevant and consistent, changes included full alignment with intergovernmental instruments for due diligence on sustainability impacts, including those on human rights, as set by the UN and the OECD.

   The previous 2016 version will be withdrawn and will no longer be available for download when the Universal Standards 2021 go into effect starting on January 1, 2023.

5. TCFD Report Finds Steady Increase in Climate-related Financial Disclosures since 2017
   The continued rise in investor demand for companies to report TCFD-aligned information, as well as the use of TCFD recommendations by governments, regulators, and standard setters in developing climate-related disclosure requirements, are likely driving the rise in TCFD-aligned reporting.