About Canadian Sustainability Standards Board (CSSB) Consultation

Collaboration details

The Canadian Sustainability Standards Board (CSSB) was established to serve the public interest by setting and maintaining high-quality sustainability disclosure standards for Canadian entities and by contributing to the development of high-quality, internationally recognized sustainability disclosure standards.

In March 2024, the CSSB released the proposed CSDS 1, General Requirements for Disclosure of Sustainability-related Financial Information (developed using IFRS S1 as a baseline), proposed CSDS 2, Climate-related Disclosures (developed using IFRS S2 as a baseline); and its proposed Criteria for Modification Framework - a document that discusses how the CSSB proposes to introduce changes to the ISSB’s standards for use in Canada.

Investors are invited to review the documents for consultation and submit a response to the CSSB by 10 June, 2024.

Objectives

The transition to a net zero, sustainable global economy requires an efficient allocation of capital, and effective management of the associated risks and opportunities. In this context, consistent, reliable and decision-useful sustainability data from organisations is essential.

Policymakers and regulators have an essential role to play in ensuring ready access to such information by introducing mandatory disclosure requirements for key sustainability-related information. Once adopted by the CSSB, the Canadian sustainability standards will remain voluntary until Canada’s regulators and legislators determine whether CSDSs should be mandatory, for whom, and over what time frame.

For this reason, the PRI encourages both Canadian and international signatories to communicate their sustainability disclosure expectations to the CSSB; Canadian regulators and policymakers will be paying close attention to the sentiments expressed therein.