In addition to the recent major developments reported separately on our sustainability and integrated reporting site, the following smaller developments occurred recently:

• The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) has published the eighth edition of Reporting matters – WBCSD’s annual review of its member companies’ sustainability and integrated reports. Please click to access the publication through the press release on the WBCSD website.
• The International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC) has released a report investigating the extent to which investors and analysts value non-financial information, the ways they use it and the benefits they see from integrated reporting. Please click to access the publication through the press release on the IIRC website.
• The IIRC also announces the launch of the revised <IR> Framework in January 2021. Please see this press release for more information.
• Climate Action 100+ has released its 2020 progress report. One section of the report (p. 13 ff.) also deals with disclosures. Please click to access the report through the press release on the Climate Action 100+ website.
• At its last meeting, the Board of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) considered the IFRS Foundation's Trustees' sustainability consultation and agreed that the IOSCO Sustainable Finance Task Force should further explore engaging with the IFRS Foundation to ensure that any proposals stemming from the consultation paper meet securities regulators’ expectations both in terms of content and governance. Please see the press release on the IOSCO website for more information.
• The latest report released by the Climate Disclosure Standards Board (CDSB), The state of EU environmental disclosures in 2020 analyses the strength and weaknesses of disclosure among 50 largest companies in the European Union under the EU Non-Financial Reporting Directive (NFRD). Please click to access the publication through the press release on the CDSB website.
• The CDSB website also offers access to a series of briefings around the disclosure under the NFRD. They can be accessed here.
• In addition, the CDSB and the United Nations Sustainable Stock Exchanges (SSE) initiative have formalised their long term and ongoing collaboration and cooperation with an official Exchange of Letters. The announcement is available on the SSE website.
• The US Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC’s) Asset Management Advisory Committee recently published its recommendations on Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) disclosure. The recommendations focus on the adoption of ESG standards for disclosures and ESG investment products. Please click to access a draft of the recommendations on the SEC website.
• The Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) has issued a staff bulletin on human capital management disclosure. The bulletin provides an overview of the human capital-related topics and metrics in SASB’s 77 industry-specific standards to assist companies in preparing human capital-related disclosures. Please click for more information in the press release on the SASB website.
• The UK Government has announced its intention to mandate climate disclosure by large companies and financial institutions across the economy by 2025. The announcement is available on the Government website.
• The Accounting Bodies Network of the Prince of Wales' Accounting for Sustainability project (A4S) has published a statement of support agreeing with the IASB that existing standards should be applied to climate-related and other emerging risks. The statement of support is available on the A4S website.
• The Alliance for Corporate Transparency has published joint position on the reform of the EU NFRD setting out seven recommendations. Please click for the list of recommendations and access to the full joint position on the Alliance for Corporate Transparency website.
• Accountancy Europe has released a podcast discussing what is being done on the side of accountants to accommodate sustainability into corporate reporting. The podcast can be accessed on the Accountancy Europe website.
• The following new translations are available (links to the organisations' websites):
  
  • Global reporting initiative (GRI): GRI 306 Waste 2020 now also available in Arabic, Traditional Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, and Spanish and the full set of GRI standards now also available in Portuguese;
  • WBCSD guidance framework and checklist tool on the COVID-19 business recovery now also available in Spanish; and
  • SASB implementation guidance for companies now also available in French, German, Japanese, and Spanish.