The International Sustainability Standards Board (the ISSB) initiated the first consultation of its agenda priorities in May 2023 for its work plan for the next two years. At its meeting in April 2024, the ISSB decided to add to its agenda two sustainability-related risk and opportunity research projects on: biodiversity, ecosystems and ecosystem services (BEES); and human capital.
BEES and human capital
According to the Request for Information released by the ISSB on the consultation of its agenda priorities, biodiversity is a foundational characteristic of natural systems. It is a proxy for functional, productive and resilient ecosystems which are then able to provide the ecosystem services upon which life on earth relies. Ecosystem services can include, among others, climate regulation, provision of raw materials and water, pollination, and pest and flood control. Biodiversity, ecosystems and ecosystem services are intrinsically linked. Human capital refers to a company’s own workforce and the workforce’s respective competencies, capabilities and experience, and motivations to innovate. How a company manages and invests in its workforce can directly affect its ability to deliver value in the long term. Human capital management includes many issues such as workforce composition, workforce stability, diversity, equity and inclusion, training and development, health, safety and wellbeing, and compensation, affecting a company’s employees and contractors.
The research projects on BEES and human capital-related risks and opportunities could involve:
- The development of a more robust understanding of the BEES and human capital-related information needs of investors,
- The identification and potential classification of risks and opportunities related to BEES and human capital (with overlapping aspects of human rights), and
- The assessment of existing practices, tools and metrics used to measure, manage and disclose material information about BEES and human capital-related risks and opportunities.
The ISSB will also consider how to build on existing materials, including the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board’s (SASB) Standards and Climate Disclosure Standards Board’s (CDSB) Framework application guidance and how to pursue approaches that would promote interoperability between its own global baseline of sustainability-related financial disclosures and other widely used standards and frameworks, such as the European Sustainability Reporting Standards.
Next steps
Undertaking these research projects is a preliminary step to exploring the feasibility and necessity of future standard setting work. The ISSB is expected to publish a feedback statement by the third quarter of 2024 that will summarise feedback on the agenda consultation and present an overview of the ISSB’s activities and work plan.
