Implementation walkthrough
How to report under the ISSB Standards (IFRS S1 and S2): video walkthrough
A walkthrough of building investor-focused sustainability and climate disclosures under the ISSB Standards, IFRS S1 and IFRS S2.
Key takeaways
- IFRS S1 covers sustainability-related risks and opportunities; IFRS S2 covers climate.
- Disclosures are for investors, lenders and other creditors.
- Four core content areas: governance, strategy, risk management, metrics and targets.
- The SASB disclosure topics inform industry-specific risks and opportunities.
- The ISSB certifies no one; assurance comes from an independent provider where required.
A global baseline for investor-focused disclosure
The International Sustainability Standards Board was set up in November 2021 by the IFRS Foundation, the organisation behind the IFRS Accounting Standards, to give capital markets a consistent and comprehensive global baseline of sustainability disclosures. IFRS S1 requires a company to disclose information about its sustainability-related risks and opportunities that is useful to the users of its general purpose financial reports when they decide whether to provide it with resources. IFRS S2 does the same for climate-related risks and opportunities, with specific metrics that include greenhouse gas emissions.
The ISSB sets standards and certifies no one. Where a jurisdiction requires assurance, an independent assurance provider gives the conclusion. This short film walks through how a company prepares its disclosures.
Built, operated through a period, then assured
Confirm what applies, and from when: whether the company reports under a jurisdiction's ISSB-based rules or voluntarily, the first reporting period, the entities covered, the reliefs available and whether assurance is required. A gap analysis then compares current governance, risk processes, data and disclosures with the standards.
The disclosures are organised in four core content areas that build on the TCFD recommendations: governance, strategy, risk management, and metrics and targets. An assessment through an investor lens, with thresholds agreed with finance, identifies the sustainability-related risks and opportunities that are material, considering the SASB disclosure topics for the industry. Governance and risk processes are documented, scenario and strategy work is carried out for climate, greenhouse gas emissions and other metrics are calculated with traceable data, and the disclosures are drafted alongside the financial statements. Controls over the data are set up so the disclosures can be assured where required. The regulator decides what is required, and the assurance provider whether the disclosures pass.
Sterling's expert and experienced consultants design and implement the reporting programme with your team under Sterling OS™, with the data held in Effivity. IFRS S1 and IFRS S2 were issued in June 2023 and are effective for periods beginning on or after 1 January 2024, with IFRS S2 amended in December 2025 for greenhouse gas emissions.
ISSB IFRS S1 / S2 at a glance
- Purpose
- Investor-focused disclosure of the sustainability-related and climate-related risks and opportunities that could influence decisions to provide resources to your company
- Relevant to
- Companies whose regulator or exchange has introduced ISSB-based rules, groups whose investors, lenders or parent company ask for the standards, and any company choosing to apply them
- Edition
- IFRS S1 and IFRS S2, issued June 2023, effective for annual reporting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2024; IFRS S2 amended in December 2025 for greenhouse gas emissions, effective 1 January 2027 with early application permitted
- Certification
- None. The ISSB sets standards and certifies no one; where your jurisdiction requires assurance, an independent assurance provider gives the conclusion
- Sterling's role
- Design and implementation of the reporting programme with your team, Effivity, training and assurance readiness, then Sustain™
- Cost and timing
- Total investment for an ISSB reporting programme depends on the current maturity of your processes, the scope, locations and number of employees. The process typically takes 5 to 9 months
ISSB IFRS S1 / S2: questions people ask
Is there such a thing as ISSB certification?
No. The ISSB is a standard-setter: it issues IFRS S1 and IFRS S2 and certifies no one. A company applies the standards and says so in its report; where its jurisdiction requires assurance, or its board chooses it, an independent assurance provider examines the disclosures and gives a limited or reasonable assurance conclusion on that report. A seal or badge from anyone else is marketing, not evidence.
Are the ISSB Standards mandatory for us?
Only if your jurisdiction makes them so, or a regulator, exchange or parent company requires them. The standards' own effective date, annual periods beginning on or after 1 January 2024, applies when a company chooses to apply them; an adopting jurisdiction sets its own scope, first year and modifications. Confirm your position with your regulator or legal adviser, and we plan to that answer.
Which jurisdictions use or are introducing the ISSB Standards?
The ISSB keeps its own record. Its jurisdictional profiles and snapshots page, last updated on 24 September 2026, has profiles for jurisdictions including Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Hong Kong SAR, Japan, Sri Lanka, Qatar, Türkiye, Nigeria and Brazil, and snapshots for others including the United Kingdom, Canada, China, South Korea, Indonesia and Thailand; a profile for Oman is marked as forthcoming. Each describes that jurisdiction's own approach and timetable, so read the one where you report, then the local rule itself.
What is the difference between IFRS S1 and IFRS S2?
IFRS S1 is the general standard: it requires information about all sustainability-related risks and opportunities that could influence investors' decisions, organised in the four core content areas, and asks you to consider the SASB disclosure topics for your industry. IFRS S2 applies that structure to climate and adds specific requirements, including Scope 1, 2 and 3 greenhouse gas emissions and the industry-based metrics in its accompanying guidance. Either may be applied early only together with the other.
Can we report on climate only in the first year?
Yes, if you take the transition relief. In the first annual reporting period a company may limit its disclosures to climate-related risks and opportunities, publish after its financial statements within the limit the relief sets (the ISSB summarises it as no later than nine months after the end of the reporting period) and omit comparative information. A company that reports on climate only in year one need not give comparatives for the other topics in year two. Your jurisdiction's version may set its own reliefs.
Keep exploring
Related to this video
The complete guide
Everything on ISSB IFRS S1 / S2
Start with the ISSB IFRS S1 / S2 page, or go straight to the guide you need.
On the ISSB IFRS S1 / S2 page
- What are the main IFRS S1 and IFRS S2 requirements?
- How do you report under the ISSB Standards?
- How much does ISSB reporting cost?
- How long does ISSB reporting take?
- Who needs to report under the ISSB Standards?
- How ISSB reporting supports investors, lenders and better decisions
- Frequently asked questions about the ISSB Standards
Often combined with ISSB IFRS S1 / S2
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