SSE Launches toolkit for exchanges to help guide markets on the new IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards

16 January 2024

(16 January 2024) In response to demand from SSE Partner Exchanges for support on the new sustainability disclosure standards recently launched by the IFRS Foundation, the SSE and its partners developed a toolkit to help exchanges and market participants. This toolkit includes a new Model Guidance that has been reviewed by the IFRS International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB).  You can find more details on this toolkit here (https://sseinitiative.org/disclosure-toolkit/), as well as an explanation of the tools included below. The toolkit is now available for free download.  Overview of tools in the SSE Toolkit The UN SSE, together with its partners, developed this toolkit to support stock exchanges and their market participants in the implementation of the IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards. The toolkit includes training tools that are designed to complement the SSE Academy’s training program on the IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards. The SSE will continue to work with its partners to provide additional tools as necessary to provide ongoing support to stock exchanges and their markets on this topic.  New Guidance and Tools: Model Guidance on Sustainability-Related Financial Disclosures – Following the launch of the IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards, the SSE and IFRS Foundation developed a new Model Guidance for exchanges wishing to provide voluntary guidance on these new global baseline standards. The guidance has been reviewed by the IFRS International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) and exchanges have been encouraged by the ISSB to utilise this guidance as an educational and capacity building resource for their markets. The document is available in Word format to facilitate the copying of the text. Note that IFRS Foundation permits stock exchanges to reproduce the material in this guidance, provided that the educational material is available free of charge. Transition Plans Training Tool – This tool has been developed as a part of SSE’s Toolkit on Sustainability-Related Financial Disclosures, given that transition plans are identified by IFRS S2 for climate-related disclosures as an important component of strategy disclosures. It provides a brief overview of what transition plans are, how they relate to IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards, and the key source of guidance on using and disclosing transition plans. Climate Metrics Training Tool – This tool has been developed as a part of SSE’s Toolkit on Sustainability-Related Financial Disclosures to provide report preparers with an overview of the cross-industry metrics required in IFRS S2 for climate-related disclosures. In addition, this tool provides report users with an introduction to GHG emissions, including key concepts, measurements and disaggregation techniques. Gap analysis checklist – This tool has been developed as a part of SSE’s Toolkit on Sustainability-Related Financial Disclosures to help report preparers as they identify what elements of IFRS S1 and S2 standards are missing in their current disclosures and chart a pathway for implementation of the standards. The tool includes two checklists, one for disclosure content and another for disclosure quality.

About the SSE

​The SSE initiative is a UN Partnership Programme organised by UNCTAD, the UN Global Compact, UNEP FI and the PRI. The SSE’s mission is to provide a global platform for exploring how exchanges, in collaboration with investors, companies (issuers), regulators, policymakers and relevant international organizations, can enhance performance on ESG (environmental, social and corporate governance) issues and encourage sustainable investment, including the financing of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The SSE seeks to achieve this mission through an integrated programme of conducting evidence-based policy analysis, facilitating a network and forum for multi-stakeholder consensus-building, and providing technical assistance and advisory services.