The Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) announced the launch of two standard-setting projects, one to address Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) across multiple SASB standards, and the other to address Greenhouse Gas Emissions (GHG) and Air Quality in the Marine Transportation Standard.

To advance its Human Capital project, which aims to assess the scope and prevalence of human capital management themes across SASB’s sectors, the board is initiating a project to evaluate the addition or revision of disclosure topics and metrics across its industry standards to assess the impact of DEI on enterprise value. As a next step, research will be conducted to refine the industry list, examine channels and industries across markets, and to develop a view on the scope of disclosure topics and general issue category mapping.  

The second standard-setting project aims to evaluate improvements to accounting metrics in the GHG and Air Quality topics in the Marine Transportation Standard. The creation of this initiative is motivated by feedback received from a group of companies, investors, experts, and analysis of Marine Transportation industry company disclosures and their alignment with the current standards. Further research and materials will be developed to facilitate consultations with market participants, focusing on the informational needs of investors.

Earlier this year, SASB merged with the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC) to form the Value Reporting Foundation, and in November, the organization revealed that it will be integrated into the International Financial Reporting Standards Foundation (IFRS), along with the Climate Disclosure Standards Board (CDSB). The IFRS announcement was made along with the launch of the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB), which is working on the development of global sustainability disclosure standards.

Dr. Jeffrey Hales, SASB Standards Board Chair, said:

“In response to robust market feedback, we are pleased to advance standard-setting on Human Capital and Marine Transportation. Because the ISSB’s standards will build on existing frameworks and standards, we encourage the market to continue to engage in the SASB Standards development process now in preparation to engage with and implement the ISSB’s standards in the future. We have numerous projects open for consultation and feedback—we welcome your input.”