15 Items for Noting

17 September 2026
Agenda Paper 15: Appendix A
OFFICIAL - PUBLIC

Appendix A: Technical Advisory Committee Update

Executive Summary

Project Type
Monitoring

Project Scope
Limited

Purpose of the paper

This paper provides a summary of the agenda and outcomes from the 14 July 2026 meeting of the UK Sustainability Disclosure Technical Advisory Committee (TAC), as relevant to the UKEB remit¹.

The UKEB is represented on the TAC by a Board Member, who is appointed as a full member to reflect the requirement to maintain connectivity between UK-adopted international accounting standards and UK Sustainability Reporting Standards (UK SRS).

Summary of the Issue

At the 17 July 2026 meeting, the TAC considered its final draft response to the International Sustainability Standards Board’s (ISSB’s) March 2026 Exposure Draft on enhancements to three Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) Standards.

Decisions for the Board

None

Recommendation
N/A – noting only

Appendices
Annex One: UK Sustainability Disclosure TAC background
Annex Two: UK Sustainability Disclosure TAC meeting schedule

TAC meeting 17 July 2026

A1 The Committee:

1. Received a general sustainability reporting update² that covered recent International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) meetings and developments in selected jurisdictions.
2. Discussed the TAC’s final draft response to the ISSB's March 2026 Exposure Draft: Proposed amendments to the SASB Standards and IFRS S2 Industry-based Guidance.

Proposed amendments to SASB Standards: Final Comment Letter3

A2 The TAC discussed some clarifications to the proposed wording in the comment letter, including the relationship between the SASB Standards and sustainability-related risks and opportunities. The TAC members noted that the proposed wording should more clearly explain that SASB disclosure topics and metrics do not directly define an entity’s sustainability-related risks and opportunities but rather support an entity’s interpretation and disclosure of those risks and opportunities. Greater clarity was considered important to promote consistent application and maintain connectivity between sustainability-related disclosures and their current and anticipated financial effects on an entity’s prospects.

A3 The TAC approved the final comment letter (subject to those changes) to respond to the ISSB consultation on the Exposure Draft: Proposed Amendments to the SASB Standards and IFRS S2 Industry-based Guidance.

Annex One: UK Sustainability Disclosure TAC background

1 The TAC was initially tasked by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT)⁴ to assess the IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards, from a technical perspective, and provide advice⁵ to the Secretary of State on whether their endorsement would be conducive to the long-term public good in the UK.

2 On 18 December 2024, the TAC concluded⁶ that the endorsement of both IFRS S1 General Requirements for Disclosure of Sustainability-related Financial Information and IFRS S2 Climate-related Disclosures, was likely to be conducive to the long-term public good in the UK.

3 The TAC was also asked by DBT⁷ to understand the ISSB’s enhancements to the SASB Standards and their implications for UK Sustainability Reporting Standards (UK SRS). On 16 March 2026, DBT⁸ asked the TAC to prioritise influencing a potential ISSB nature-related Exposure Draft, SASB Standards consultations, and continued engagement with GHG Protocol revisions.

4 In addition to the TAC, there is also a separate Committee, the Policy Implementation Committee⁹ (PIC), which is responsible for ensuring that any endorsed standards are implemented in a way that aligns with the mandates of UK government departments and regulators.

Annex Two: UK Sustainability Disclosure TAC 2026 meeting schedule

1 The public meeting agenda, technical papers and summary minutes from the TAC meetings can be found on the UK Sustainability Disclosure TAC website¹⁰.

2 TAC meetings, scheduled for 2026, are listed below for information.

1. Monday, 19 January: meeting summary.
2. Tuesday, 17 February: This was a private meeting where the TAC held confidential informational sessions on upcoming workstreams and discussed related administrative matters.
3. Tuesday, 24 March: meeting summary
4. Tuesday, 21 April: meeting summary
5. Tuesday, 19 May: meeting summary
6. Tuesday, 16 June: meeting summary
7. Tuesday, 14 July: meeting summary
8. Tuesday, 15 September
9. Tuesday, 13 October
10. Tuesday, 17 November
11. Tuesday, 15 December

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17 September 2026
Agenda Paper 15: Appendix B
OFFICIAL - PUBLIC

Appendix B: Sustainability Update

IFRS Foundation updates

International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB)

B1 On 21 July 2026, the ISSB met to discuss nature-related disclosures and enhancing the SASB standards Phase 2.

B2 In relation to nature-related disclosures following topics were discussed:

1. due process steps and permission to ballot; and
2. overview of the likely effects of the proposed Practice Statement.

B3 The ISSB confirmed that it has complied with the applicable due process requirements¹¹ and has undertaken sufficient consultation and analysis to commence the process for balloting the Exposure Draft. The ISSB will publish the Exposure draft in October 2026 and the comment period will be 120 days.

B4 The ISSB considered the likely effects analysis of the proposed Practice Statement¹², including the expected costs and benefits of the proposals. The ISSB was not asked to make any decisions.

B5 The ISSB staff presented its analysis and recommendation for ‘Phase 2’ of the project on enhancing the SASB standards¹³. The ISSB decided to comprehensively enhance the six SASB standards in the Technology & Communications sector of Sustainable Industries Classification System (SICS).

UK update

B6 The FRC has published¹⁴ “Insights into Materiality in Corporate Reporting”, drawing on its corporate reporting review work. The publication provides practical observations on how companies determine and communicate material information, including sustainability-related information, and is relevant as companies prepare for reporting under UK Sustainability Reporting Standards (UK SRS).

B7 The FCA’s CP26/5 consultation¹⁵, which proposes replacing existing TCFD-based disclosure requirements for listed companies with requirements aligned to UK SRS S1 and S2 closed in March 2026. The FCA intends to publish a Policy Statement in autumn 2026, with proposed application from accounting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2027.

B8 The ICAEW and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) have published¹⁶ “A Buyer’s Guide to Assurance on Sustainability Information” to provide practical, decision-useful guidance to help organisations navigate assurance on their sustainability information.

B9 The Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) has published¹⁷ a report on sustainability reporting in the public sector. The report identifies key gaps in current reporting practice and provides recommendations for strengthening public sector sustainability reporting.

Rest of world update

B10 The European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG) has updated¹⁸ its European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRSs) Knowledge Hub to include the 2026 revised text of the ESRSs and the voluntary sustainability reporting standard for companies outside the CSRD scope, as adopted by the European Commission in July 2026.

B11 The Deutsches Rechnungslegungs Standards Committee (DRSC) has published¹⁹ a study titled “Reporting on Anticipated Financial Effects” (AFE). The study analysed the sustainability reports of 20 large companies from:

1. the UK and Switzerland (applying the TCFD recommendations);
2. France and Spain (applying the ESRS); and
3. Turkey (applying IFRS S1 and IFRS S2).

The findings indicate that irrespective of the standards used entities are not yet fully clear what they are expected to disclose. The disclosures are often not comparable and sometimes not consistently distinguished from current financial effects or from other effects.

B12 The US government has urged²⁰ the European Union to scale back corporate sustainability requirements that regulate the environmental and social impacts of large companies and their global supply chains in August 2026. It argues that the measures place disproportionate compliance burdens on US businesses.

B13 The Australian Accounting Standards Board (AASB) has published²¹ educational material titled “Disclosing information about an entity’s climate-related transition, including information about transition plans, in accordance with AASB S2”.

B14 The Sustainability Standards Board of Japan (SSBJ) has published²² its comment letter responding to the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) Exposure Draft Proposed amendments to the SASB Standards and IFRS S2 Industry-based Guidance.

B15 The Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHGP) has announced²³ a series of updates to its corporate standards. As part of the update, GHGP and the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) will combine their corporate carbon accounting standards into a single, harmonised global accounting standard.

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Footnotes