Sustainability is at the core of countless conversations as regulatory bodies such as the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) propose new disclosure requirements. The International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) has also released new standards that are changing how organizations measure and report their sustainability initiatives and impact. Although these new standards don’t yet apply in Canada, they’re already shaping the thinking of the CSA, which may issue a requirement in the near future for Canadian companies to report on the ISSB standards as well as any new standards the Canadian Sustainability Standards Board (CSSB) form.
Stay tuned—we add content to this page as important information for Canadian organizations comes to light.
The European Union (EU) has issued the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), legislation that requires sustainability reporting and may go into effect as early as 2024. In Canada, it is expected that about 1,300 companies (including private companies) will be impacted due to having either EU operations or a debt/equity listing on an EU- regulated market. The CSRD disclosure requirements are significantly broader than those being contemplated by the SEC and the CSA, adding to the complexity of determining whether compliance with this new legislation is required.
With the issuance of the ISSB new standards, organizations are looking to navigate a new era of reporting on their climate and sustainability performance. The ISSB was established by the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) Foundation to develop a global, consistent baseline for sustainability-related financial disclosures. Its new standards call for high-quality, transparent, and reliable reporting by companies on climate and other sustainability topics.
The ISSB standards represent the biggest changes to corporate reporting in decades and are essential for addressing the needs of global capital markets.
Key takeaways:
What we are waiting for in the Canadian landscape:
Here are three major impacts on Canadian companies resulting from the new standards: