Staff paper
Agenda reference: 2Sustainability Standards AdvisoryForum meeting
DateJune 2024

Topic

Enhancements to the SASB Standards

Contacts

Bryan Esterly (bryan.esterly@ifrs.org)

This paper has been prepared for discussion at a public meeting of the Sustainability Standards Advisory Forum(SSAF). This paper does not represent the views of the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) or
any individual ISSB member. Any comments in the paper do not purport to set out what would be an acceptable
or unacceptable application of IFRS® Sustainability Disclosure Standards. The ISSB’s technical decisions aremade in public and are reported in the ISSB Update.

2

Purpose of this session
Purpose of this session
To provide SSAF members with an update from the ISSB technical staff regarding futureenhancements to the SASB Standards

Question for SSAF members
Do SSAF members have any feedback on staff’s latest thinking regarding SASB Standards
enhancements?

3

ISSB decision to prioritise SASB enhancements• At its March 2022 meeting regarding its strategic balance of activities, the ISSB
decided to prioritise enhancing the SASB Standards as part of its next twoyear work plan
• Staff notes significant overlap with other agenda priorities:• Supporting implementation of IFRS S1 and IFRS S2• New research projects on biodiversity, ecosystems and ecosystemservices (BEES) and human capital will involve industry-specific research

4

May ISSB session on SICS
• The ISSB decided to continue withcurrent sustainability-related approach
to industry groupings (as represented bySICS)• ISSB will also evaluate opportunities toenhance SICS, which could include:•••

Aggregation/disaggregation of industries
Consulting on international applicability ofgroupings
Facilitating application of SASB Standards
by entities w complex or diverse businessactivities

5June ISSB session• Staff is soliciting ISSB input on how to prioritise
SASB Standards enhancements• Not a decision-making session• Staff suggests using same criteria as used by
the ISSB in assessing new projects to add to its
work plan and provided initial views on how toapproach prioritisation• Staff believe the ISSB should approach SASB
enhancements with the overall objective ofsupporting the high-quality implementationof IFRS S1 and IFRS S2 in a timely manner

6

Initial staff view: emphasising criteria• The opportunity set for SASB enhancements is broad and complex• Staff believes that to most effectively meet the objective of high-quality
implementation of IFRS S1 and S2 in a timely manner, the ISSB shouldemphasise:•criterion 1: the importance of the matter to investors•

criterion 3: the types of companies that the matter is likely to affect, including whether
the matter is more prevalent in some industries and jurisdictions than others;•criterion 5: the potential project’s interaction with other projects in the work plan and its
interaction with the work of other relevant standard-setters; and•criterion 6: the complexity and feasibility of the potential project and its solutions

7

Initial staff view: project approach
Emphasising these criteria could result in a projectapproach of…
• Prioritising industries that overlap with those prioritisedby other standard-setters• Approach could involve starting with consulting on
industry groupings + disclosure topics (int’lapplicability focus)• Emphasise BEES/human capital• Supplement this group of industries with other highvalue projects with high likelihood of feasible solutions(investor need / strongest feedback)8Mappingsectorwork
Stage of standard:•Final standard•

Exposure draft
approval stage•

Exposure draftdevelopment•

EFRAG sector standards

GRI sector standards

Relevant SASB industries*

SASB sector

Oil and Gas

Oil and Gas

Extractives & Mineral Processing

Coal, Quarries and Mining

CoalMining

Oil & Gas – Exploration & Production
Oil & Gas – Midstream
Oil & Gas – Refining & Marketing
Oil & Gas – Services
Coal Operations
Metals & Mining
Road Transportation
Car Rentals & Leasing
Automobiles
Auto PartsApparel, Accessories & Footwear
Electric Utilities & Power Generators
Gas Utilities & Distributors
Solar Technology & Project Developers
Wind Technology & Project Developers
Agricultural Products
Meat, Poultry & Dairy
Tobacco (partly)
Alcoholic Beverages
Non-alcoholic Beverages
Processed Foods
Food Retailers & Distributors

Infrastructure

Asset Management & Custody Activities
Investment Banking & Brokerage
Securities & Commodities Exchanges
Commercial Banks
Consumer FinanceMortgage FinanceInsurance
Managed Care

Financials

Road Transport
Motor Vehicles
Textiles, Accessories, Footwear andJewellery
Energy Production and Utilities

Agriculture, Farming and Fisheries

Textiles and Apparel

Agriculture, Aquaculture and Fishing

Food and Beverages

Early research

Capital Markets*The SASB industries listed
are those relevant to thesector standards work of
EFRAG and GRI, and notnecessarily the industries theISSB will select to prioritize
for enhancements

Credit Institutions

Insurance

Financial Services

Transportation

Consumer Goods

Renewable Resources & Alternative
EnergyFood & Beverage

Healthcare

9Discussion

What are the SSAF members’ reactions to staff’s mostrecent thinking regarding SASB enhancements?

Follow us online
ifrs.org@IFRSFoundation
IFRS Foundation
International SustainabilityStandards Board