IFRS Foundation completes consolidation of CDSB from CDP

The IFRS Foundation, CDP and the Climate Disclosure Standards Board (CDSB) are pleased to confirm that, further to the announcement of 3 November 2021, CDSB has been consolidated into the IFRS Foundation. This marks the completion of the first part of the commitment made by leading investor-focused sustainability disclosure organisations CDSB and the Value Reporting Foundation (VRF) to consolidate into the IFRS Foundation by June 2022 to provide staff and resources to the new International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB).

As part of this consolidation, CDSB staff are transferring to the IFRS Foundation, with core intellectual property and technical assets to support the work of the ISSB also being transferred.

This consolidation confirms the closure of CDSB, and, as it will be fully integrated into the ISSB, no further technical work or content will be produced. By joint agreement, CDSB’s resources remain accessible via its legacy website, which will be preserved until further notice. The CDSB Framework and recent technical guidance on Water, Biodiversity and Social disclosures, as well as wider resources, will remain relevant and applicable for companies until such time as the ISSB publishes its IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards. 

CDP and the IFRS Foundation are working together to consider future arrangements that are of mutual benefit to both organisations, including exploring how we can collaborate to drive adoption of the ISSB Standards.

Erkki Liikanen, Chair of the IFRS Foundation Trustees, said:

This is an essential step in providing the newly created ISSB with the technical expertise it needs to produce IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards to the ambitious timeline we have set. We would like to thank CDP for its support in hosting CDSB and facilitating a seamless transition, providing the ISSB with the running start it needs. We look forward to maintaining a fruitful collaboration between our organisations in the coming years, and we welcome our new colleagues to the Foundation.

Paul Simpson, CEO of CDP, said:

The consolidation of CDSB into the IFRS Foundation represents an exciting step towards realising CDSB’s vision—mainstreaming sustainability reporting with financial accounting. CDP is immensely proud to have hosted the CDSB global secretariat since its foundation 15 years ago and it has been a privilege to work alongside the CDSB team, whose valuable thought leadership has changed the disclosure landscape. Although CDSB will no longer be under the same roof as CDP, we look forward to working closely with the IFRS Foundation to support its work on global financial standards for environmental reporting. My thanks go to the teams at CDSB and CDP, funders and many other contributors to CDSB’s work who have made this possible.

Rick Samans, Chair of the Climate Disclosure Standards Board, said:

CDSB was built on the back of the effort and goodwill of too many accomplished people around the world to name. CDSB’s work was consistently ahead of its time and was generously supported by our Technical Working Group and counsel from our Board, as well as of course the talented staff in the CDSB secretariat. Without these contributions, we would never have accomplished the mission we set out in 2007.

Emmanuel Faber, Chair of the ISSB, said:

I  welcome our CDSB colleagues to the IFRS Foundation and look forward to learning from their wealth of experience in developing disclosure frameworks and engaging effectively with the market.