EEA Joins IFRS Sustainability Alliance

The Energy & Environment Alliance (EEA) today announced that it has joined the IFRS Sustainability Alliance. In doing so, it joins a community of experts working on a global baseline of sustainability disclosures to meet the needs of capital markets, across all industries around the world, including the hospitality industry.

Sustainability-related disclosure standards, developed by the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB), which operates under the oversight of the IFRS Foundation, are sought to be adopted by jurisdictions around the world. They impact all the participants in capital markets from regulators to investors.

The International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO), which is the international body that brings together world’s securities regulators and is recognised as the global standard setter for the securities sector, officially endorsed the new IFRS sustainability and climate related disclosure standards, determining that they are “appropriate to serve as a global framework for capital markets to develop the use of sustainability-related financial information”.

With their endorsement, IOSCO called on 130 world securities regulators, which together regulate more than 95% of global financial markets, to incorporate the new standards into their regulatory frameworks.

Many governments are considering the adoption of the standards, including Australia, Brazil, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, South Africa and the United Kingdom. The European Commission responded by underlining high levels of interoperability around climate-related disclosures; it stated: “ESRS on climate change will to a very large extent report the same information as companies that will use the ISSB standard on climate-related disclosures.”

Ufi Ibrahim, EEA CEO, said: “As the global economy and financial markets adopt mandatory sustainability and climate disclosure, access to capital will be increasingly determined by a company’s ESG credentials. Consequently, we need to ensure that global reporting standards are consistent, comparable, and decision-useful for hospitality investors and asset managers. Going forward, many of the current sustainability ratings and green certification programmes won’t be enough to unlock capital. Audit grade ESG reporting will become the norm. Joining the IFRS Sustainability Alliance positions the EEA to shape the development of sector specific standards, and to inform hospitality industry leaders with timely and meaningful knowledge.”

Rebecca Bar, Director of Membership at IFRS Foundation said: “The IFRS Foundation appreciates EEA’s engagement with and support for our mission through it joining the IFRS Sustainability Alliance. Alliance members believe in the power of building a global baseline of sustainability disclosures for the capital markets, developed by the Foundation’s International Sustainability Standards Board, to enable investors to factor in sustainability-related risks and opportunities in their decisions. We’re looking forward to our work together.”

To learn more, visit www.EEA.International.