On 20 April 2026,Staff at the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) recommended a non-mandatory “Practice Statement” for nature-related financial disclosures, favoring a voluntary framework over a standalone mandatory standard. This proposal aims to safeguard the ongoing implementation of IFRS S1 and S2 while providing entities with a structured resource to address nature-related risks and opportunities already required under the general materiality lens of S1.The recommendation has prompted significant pushback from environmental and sustainability-focused organizations, who argue that a non-mandatory approach fails to reflect the scientific urgency of biodiversity loss or global policy commitments. This friction follows the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) decision to sunset its technical program in reliance on the ISSB’s leadership. Ultimately, the staff’s approach seeks to balance market-wide reporting consistency with the need for specialized guidance, though critics remain concerned that a voluntary statement may inadvertently deprioritize nature relative to climate-related disclosures.
Source: https://www.esgtoday.com/issb-staff-recommend-non-mandatory-nature-reporting-statement-instead-of-standalone-standard/