The International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) has announced proposed amendments to its climate disclosure standard (IFRS S2), offering crucial relief for financial institutions grappling with Scope 3 reporting challenges. The move underscores ISSB’s commitment to refining ESG standards without compromising the integrity of climate disclosures essential for advancing global carbon neutral strategies. 

Key proposed changes would allow financial institutions to exclude derivatives, facilitated emissions, and insurance-related emissions from Scope 3 Category 15 disclosures. Institutions must still disclose the volume of activities excluded, ensuring transparency remains intact. The amendments aim to ease application burdens while preserving the decision-usefulness of sustainability data for investors. 

Sue Lloyd, ISSB Vice-Chair, emphasized the importance of responsiveness: “As a market-focused standard-setter, we propose targeted amendments to help preparers without undermining investor trust.” 

Other proposed adjustments include relief from rigid disaggregation requirements using the Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS) and permission to apply jurisdiction-specific GHG measurement methodologies, expanding flexibility without diverging from global ESG expectations. 

Sustainability leaders praised the ISSB’s pragmatic approach. KPMG US Sustainability Leader Maura Hodge noted, “The refinements balance ambition with achievability, allowing financial institutions to focus on meaningful value creation while maintaining credible ESG reporting.” 

The Exposure Draft is now open for public comment until June 27, 2025, with final amendments anticipated by year-end. The ISSB clarified that the reliefs are optional, ensuring that organizations can maintain alignment with broader carbon neutral strategy goals while navigating evolving disclosure landscapes. 

This strategic evolution reinforces ISSB’s role in supporting high-quality, globally consistent sustainability standards, helping corporations and investors drive authentic climate action while managing operational realities. 

The proposal signals a thoughtful maturation of ESG frameworks critical to building resilient, transparent, and climate-aligned global capital markets. 

Sources: 

https://esgnews.com/issb-proposes-relief-for-scope-3-reporting-requirements-in-financial-sector/  

https://www.ifrs.org/news-and-events/news/2025/04/issb-publishes-exposure-draft-targeted-amendments-s2/ 

https://www.environmental-finance.com/content/news/issb-proposes-relief-from-reporting-some-finance-related-emissions.html