Frank Bold's response to the ISSB future agenda priorities consultation

Frank Bold encouraged the ISSB to:

• Focus in the first place on developing supporting materials for the implementation of the existing standards.
• Bringing new research and standard-setting projects, to the extent that it entails expanding ISSB standards to matters beyond climate, should be prioritised next.
• We welcome the proposed commitment towards prioritising "social related" disclosures (human capital and human rights) as well as biodiversity disclosures.
• Social standards need to start with a cross-cutting thematic standard instead of working either separately or in parallel on "human capital" and "human rights" standards, in order to avoid contributing to a confused landscape regarding social issues.
• Both for the development of a social standard and biodiversity disclosures, the ISSB should harness existing international instruments -in particular the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, the extensive implementation of social disclosures in the GRI, the UNEP Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, and the TNFD- and the experience gathered in the development of the European Standards in both areas by EFRAG.
• Alignment with universally accepted principles and frameworks established by the abovementioned instruments is fundamental, with alternatives approaches leading to undesired further fragmentation in the area of sustainability reporting