Civil society groups, scientists and academics have written to an open letter to the ISSB, urging it to develop a mandatory nature-related disclosure standard.
At a meeting in Beijing tomorrow (22 April), the ISSB will vote on what form of nature-related standard-setting it will pursue in 2026. The staff have recommended that the board develop a draft non-mandatory practice statement, rather than a standalone standard or amendments to its existing standards.
The letter, signed by 19 prominent individuals in the sustainability sphere, argues that this approach “would fall short of current needs and risks overlooking the latest science, private sector momentum and global policy commitments by choosing not to adopt a disclosure standard on nature”.
It continues: “The signatories of the letter call on ISSB to agree to develop a nature-related disclosure standard to support and enable the private sector to assess and address their nature impacts, risks and dependencies, in the interest of business resilience and societal health.”
Signatories to the letter include: Nature Positive Initiative executive chair Marco Lambertini; WWF International director general Kirsten Schuijt; Business for Nature CEO Eva Zabey; Science Panel for the Amazon co-chair Carlos Nobre; and Finance for Biodiversity Foundation executive director Anita de Horde.