Sustainability Standards Conference 2025 reaffirms the drive for a global reporting baseline
The International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) is making progress in its goal of creating a pragmatic global baseline in sustainability reporting. More than thirty countries have already adopted or are preparing to adopt the reporting standards. Yet, at the Sustainability Standards Conference on 21 and 22 July, representatives from industry and regulation stressed that European firms still encounter uncertainty and disproportionate effort where ISSB requirements overlap with European regulation.
The conference was jointly organized by SAFE, the ISSB, the German Accounting Standards Committee (DRSC), and Goethe University Frankfurt. Guests from politics, regulatory bodies, business, and research gathered at the Westend Campus in Frankfurt to discuss current developments in sustainability reporting. The event was supported by the House of Finance, Deloitte, and Deutsche Börse Group.
Global vision and local implementation
Discussion centered on the European Union Omnibus Regulation package and the risk of duplicate reporting for companies. Speakers called for proportionate and scalable disclosure requirements that reflect the capacities of smaller companies without compromising the information needs of investors. The conference opened with panels on questions about how a global disclosure standard can unify national regulations, pressure to innovate and political goals, as well as what market signals and strategies are needed to ensure that sustainable business practices contribute to economic strength. University President Enrico Schleiff, Faculty Dean Christian Schlag (both Goethe University Frankfurt), House of Finance President Axel Weber, Hessian State Secretary for Finance Till Kaesbach, and ISSB Chair Emmanuel Faber contributed their keynotes.
Regarding the political debate on the benefits and limitations of sustainability reporting, Emmanuel Faber emphasized at the outset that the ISSB works independently of day-to-day political objectives. The reporting standards serve to systematically record financially relevant risks and opportunities – in the interests of investors.
Sustainability does not hinder growth
Addressing current geopolitical tensions and the ongoing debate about Europe’s economic competitiveness, Verena Ross, Chair of the European Securities and Markets Authority, noted the importance of sustainability standards: “Sustainability standards are not here to limit.” Rather, they serve to shape economic transformation in a way that benefits society, she said.
Sue Lloyd, Vice-Chair of the ISSB, stressed the same practical focus from the standard-setter’s side: “We are in close exchange with stakeholders to understand needs and problems.” According to Lloyd, the ISSB sees the need for companies to be able to feed information into “one place” that can serve multiple reporting obligations.
Biodiversity and social sustainability
Integrating biodiversity into financial-reporting frameworks formed a second focal point. Sophia Arlt (Goethe University Frankfurt) presented the paper A Biodiversity Stress Test of the Financial System. The findings show that European banks remain largely resilient even under extreme biodiversity transition scenarios: The additional losses on the financial system's corporate loan portfolio would amount to between 0.27% and 0.4%. Theresa Kuchler (New York University Stern School of Business) presented a macro-finance model in her paper The Economics of Biodiversity Loss, that suggests regulatory nature risk may soon influence equity valuations as visibly as carbon pricing.
Erika Bognár presented the results of her joint work with Anna Rohlfing-Bastian (Goethe University Frankfurt), Social Sustainability Standards Revisited, finding that the European Sustainability Reporting Standards mandate measurably lifts firms’ social-performance scores, yet still omits financially material indicators such as training costs, employee satisfaction, and staff turnover. Maximilian Muhn (Goethe University Frankfurt), presenting the paper Decoding a Social Disclosure Decision, showed that companies release workforce-diversity data chiefly when investors demand it, peers set a precedent, and litigation risk is low.
A focus on emerging markets
Keynote speaker Patrick Bolton (Centre for Economic Policy Research and Bruegel) advocated directing capital to emerging markets. As in the Paris Report 3, he called for the energy sector to be decarbonized first. Global measures beyond Europe's borders are essential, he said.
The academic insights underscored the need for standards that capture both environmental and social performance and for research that links financial stability to nature-related risks.
The ISSB and the DRSC reaffirmed their commitment to ongoing dialogue with reporting entities. The goal is flexible yet robust standards that combat greenwashing and provide investors with reliable information.
Photos from the conference can be found here.
Source: SAFE
