ISSB and EFRAG publish joint Interoperability Guidance

On 2 May 2024, both ISSB and EFRAG have adopted and published the “ESRS-ISSB Standards Interoperability Guidance”. The guidance, also referred to as “educational material”, is the result of joint efforts by the ISSB and EFRAG, illustrating the high level of alignment achieved between IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards and European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS). It further outlines how companies can apply both sets of standards, including a detailed analysis of the alignment in terms of climate-related disclosures.

The guidance document contains four sections:

• Section 1 discusses the general reporting requirements in the ESRS and IFRS SDS and explains how the standards are compatible with each other in terms of materiality, presentation and disclosures on non-climate-related sustainability topics.
• Section 2 addresses climate-related disclosures. The paragraphs of the ISSB standards and the corresponding paragraphs in the ESRS are presented in tabular form.
• Section 3 covers reporting elements/areas where ESRS users may need to provide additional disclosures in order to comply, at the same time, with the requirements of IFRS SDS.
• Similarly, section 4 covers reporting elements/areas where IFRS users may need to provide additional disclosures in order to comply with the requirements of ESRS.

Further details can be found on the EFRAG website and the website of the IFRS Foundation.

The DRSC is planning two workshops on this topic this autumn.