ISSB Proposes Practice Statement for Nature-Related Disclosures

Posted 18 June 2026 Written by Acts Online
Category Sustainability Reporting

Brought to you by SA Accounting Academy: The International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) has agreed on a regulatory pathway to introduce nature-related disclosure requirements via a forthcoming IFRS Practice Statement.

Under the proposed framework, the ISSB intends to publish an exposure draft for public comment in October 2026. The resulting IFRS Practice Statement, scheduled for final publication in the fourth quarter of 2026, will complement the existing IFRS S1 General Requirements for Disclosure of Sustainability-related Financial Information and IFRS S2 Climate-related Disclosures. The Practice Statement is designed to provide guidance without altering the core requirements of these established standards.

While IFRS S1 already mandates that entities disclose material information regarding all sustainability-related risks and opportunities—including those related to nature—the new Practice Statement will explicitly outline how companies must structure and present these disclosures. The ISSB indicated that this approach aims to minimise implementation disruption for jurisdictions and entities currently transitioning to the primary ISSB Standards.

The proposed content for the nature-related disclosures will draw heavily upon the framework established by the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD). Although structured as a Practice Statement rather than a standalone standard, applying the statement will carry the full effect of an ISSB Standard for those entities that adopt it, serving as an incremental step toward a potential standard-based outcome in the future.

Click here to access the official announcement on the IFRS Foundation website.

What this means for you, your business, or your clients

  • For yourself: Keep abreast of the alignment between IFRS S1/S2 and the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) guidelines to advise on upcoming reporting expectations.
  • For your business: Assess your firm’s current capacity to gather, verify, and report nature-related financial data ahead of the October 2026 exposure draft.
  • For your clients: Advise clients with significant environmental footprints to begin mapping their nature-related risks and dependencies in line with TNFD recommendations to simplify future compliance.

Originally published at https://accountingacademy.co.za/news/read/issb-the-proposed-way-forward-for-nature-related-disclosures

The views expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Acts Online. Acts Online accepts no responsibility for the accuracy, completeness or fairness of the article, nor does the information contained herein constitute advice, legal or otherwise.