In December of 2020, the IFRS requested comment on their Consultation Paper on Sustainability Reporting. The Trustees met on February 1, 2021 to review the responses to the first three questions in the consultation paper:

1. Is there a need for a global set of internationally recognised sustainability reporting standards? (a) If yes, should the IFRS Foundation play a role in setting these standards and expand its standard-setting activities into this area?
2. Is the development of a sustainability standards board (SSB) to operate under the governance structure of the IFRS Foundation an appropriate approach to achieving further consistency and global comparability in sustainability reporting?
3. Do you have any comment or suggested additions on the requirements for success as listed in paragraph 31 (including on the requirements for achieving a sufficient level of funding and achieving the appropriate level of technical expertise)?

Upon review of the feedback it was clear that there is a “growing and urgent demand to improve the global consistency and comparability in sustainability reporting, as well as strong recognition that urgent steps need to be taken and broad demand for the IFRS Foundation to play a role in this.“ As a response, the Trustees have committed to forming a Trustee Steering Committee, as well as continued analysis of the consultation responses to determine whether to establish a new board. It is expected that the Trustees will draft a proposal including a roadmap and timeline by the end of September 2021, with a possible announcement of a sustainability standards board at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in November 2021.

More information on the Trustee's meeting and sustainability efforts can be found here.

World Council's response to the IFRS' Consultation Paper on Sustainability Reporting can be found here.