Friday, July 7th, 2023
Participants in the IPSASB’s May 2022 consultation paper on Enhancing Public Sector Sustainability Reporting universally acknowledged the urgent need for distinct sustainability reporting standards tailored for the public sector. They also endorsed the IPSASB, with its quarter-century of standard-setting expertise, as the suitable authority to spearhead this development. Implementing specific sustainability reporting standards in the public sector would significantly improve the transparency, accountability, and comparability of efforts to address climate change and other sustainability issues.
After an initial phase of research and scoping, the IPSASB has chosen to proceed with the creation of a Climate-Related Disclosures standard specifically designed for the public sector. A project brief for this crucial initiative has been published. Climate change reporting, a focal point of sustainability reporting, falls within the broader context of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues.
IPSASB Chair Ian Carruthers celebrated the decision to establish a public sector-specific Climate-Related Disclosures standard as a significant stride towards meeting the public sector’s demand for sustainability reporting standards. “We are thrilled to be able to answer stakeholders’ requests in this manner and look forward to initiating more projects in this vital field in the months to come.”
The IPSASB, with this launch, will convene a Climate-related Topic Working Group to offer climate-specific expertise and guidance to facilitate the project’s successful implementation. A Sustainability Reference Group will also be established to advise on the overall development program for sustainability reporting standards. To thoroughly understand these recent updates from IPSASB, we invite you to join our IPSAS Workshops.
