On 31st January 2022, the Climate Disclosure Standards Board (CDSB) was consolidated into the IFRS Foundation to support the work of the newly established International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB). While this site and its resources remain relevant for preparers looking to improve sustainability disclosure until such time as the ISSB issues its IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards on such topics, no further work or guidance will be produced or published by CDSB. For further information please visit the IFRS website.

CDSB and SASB release TCFD Implementation Guide

CDSB and SASB partner to create how-to guide for climate-related disclosures

Download the TCFD Implementation Guide.

LONDON, May 1, 2019 – In June 2017, the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) published recommendations for climate-related financial risk disclosures in mainstream corporate filings. More than 600 organisations have publicly expressed support for the recommendations but many have cited a need for practical guidance on how to implement them. Today, the Climate Disclosure Standards Board (CDSB) and the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) jointly released an effective solution for TCFD implementation by organisations around the world, in all industries and sectors. 

“Companies are showing strong interest in managing their exposure to climate-related risk by committing to the TCFD recommendations. However, few have a clear understanding of how to implement those recommendations,” said Madelyn Antoncic, CEO of The SASB Foundation. “SASB and CDSB felt it was imperative to help companies achieve their goals with this comprehensive guide.”

The TCFD recommendations are market-driven disclosures that allow companies to gain greater insight into the climate-related risks and opportunities they face, and deliver consistent, comparable, and reliable corporate disclosure to inform decision making by investors, lenders, and insurers. Many companies already disclose some climate-related information, but the financial implications are often not apparent, and the related performance and risk metrics are often not comparable. Using the CDSB Framework and SASB tools to follow the TCFD recommendations, organisations can provide more effective climate-related disclosures that are comparable within industries and have clear links to material financial impacts.

Drawing on each organisation’s already well-established reporting standards, tools and frameworks, this new guide offers companies the “how-to” to drive implementation of the 11 recommended TCFD disclosures, 

“The guide takes the recommendations from principles to practice, increasing the adoption of the TCFD recommendations and enhancing the robustness, consistency and comparability of such information,” said Mardi McBrien, Managing Director, CDSB. “This will not only benefit companies through better risk management but investors who can use the disclosures to allocate capital at the scale and pace required to accelerate the transition to a low carbon and climate resilient economy.”

The collaboration between SASB and CDSB reinforces the work of the Corporate Reporting Dialogue’s Better Alignment Project, a two-year project focusing on driving better alignment in the corporate reporting landscape, to make it easier for companies to prepare coherent disclosures that meet the information needs of capital markets and society. In its first year, the Better Alignment Project is focusing specifically on mapping elements from the five participating organisations’ sustainability frameworks against the principles, disclosures, and indicators included in the TCFD Recommendations report.

View the TCFD Implementation Guide, complete with mock disclosures.

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About CDSB

The Climate Disclosure Standards Board (CDSB) was founded in 2007 and is an international consortium of nine business and environmental NGOs committed to advancing and aligning the global mainstream corporate reporting model to equate natural capital with financial capital. It does so by offering companies a framework for reporting environmental and climate information with the same rigor as financial information. In turn, this helps them to provide investors with decision-useful environmental and climate information via the mainstream corporate report, enhancing the efficient allocation of capital.  Regulators also benefit from compliance-ready materials. Collectively, CDSB aim to contribute to more sustainable economic, social, and environmental system. To learn more about CDSB and download the framework, please visit www.cdsb.net. Follow CDSB on LinkedIn and Twitter.

About SASB

The Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) is an independent, nonprofit standard-setting organization that develops and maintains robust reporting standards that enable businesses around the world to identify, manage, and communicate financially material sustainability information to their investors. SASB standards are evidence based, developed with broad market participation, and are designed to be cost-effective for companies and decision-useful for investors. To download any of the 77 industry-specific standards, or learn more about SASB, please visit www.SASB.org. Follow SASB on LinkedIn and Twitter. 

Media Contact
Lesley McKenna, Communications Manager, CDSB

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