ISSB 25–26 February 2026: Climate–Nature Disclosures And A 120-Day SASB Exposure Draft

Executive Summary

The International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) agenda for 25–26 February 2026 brings together two implementation-relevant workstreams: nature-related disclosure standard-setting (under the Biodiversity, ecosystems and ecosystem services project) and enhancements to the SASB Standards, including a new exposure draft package. On nature, staff is asking the ISSB to confirm essential terms and concepts that would anchor scope and comparability, and to consider additional guidance on connected information between climate- and nature-related risks and opportunities under IFRS S1. On SASB, staff are seeking decisions informed by a 150-day consultation that generated 238 comment letters and survey responses, alongside a proposed 120-day comment period for the next exposure draft, with an indicative effective date of 12–18 months after issuance and early application permitted (IFRS Foundation, 2026a; IFRS Foundation, 2026b; IFRS Foundation, 2026c; IFRS Foundation, 2026h; IFRS Foundation, 2026i).

Meeting Snapshot And Agenda

The published agenda is virtual and scheduled in CET (Frankfurt). It allocates 2 hours 45 minutes of discussion time on 25 February (14:00–16:00 and 16:15–17:00) to Biodiversity, Ecosystems and Ecosystem Services, and 2 hours on 26 February (15:30–17:30) to Enhancing the SASB Standards (IFRS Foundation, 2026a). The IFRS meeting page provides direct access to the agenda and all related staff papers and drafts for this meeting (IFRS Foundation, 2026j).

Nature Standard-Setting Anchored In Essential Terms

Staff is asking the ISSB to confirm a set of “essential terms and concepts” for standard-setting on nature-related disclosures to improve understandability and comparability, including decisions on whether specific items should be defined in the exposure draft or described through explanatory material. The staff recommendation is to define core scope terms such as nature-related risks, nature-related physical risks, nature-related transition risks, and nature-related opportunities, while describing channels such as dependencies on nature and impacts on nature, and addressing foundational concepts including ecosystems, ecosystem services, and environmental assets (IFRS Foundation, 2026b). Staff also recommend changing the project title to “Nature-related Disclosures” and reiterate that, while climate is part of nature and climate change is a driver of nature change, nature-related requirements are intended to supplement rather than replace IFRS S2 (IFRS Foundation, 2026b).

Climate–Nature Connected Information Under IFRS S1

The climate–nature staff paper frames “connected information” as an investor-useful objective already embedded in IFRS S1, and asks whether further guidance is needed when entities provide nature-related disclosures alongside climate-related disclosures. Staff identifies three decision-useful categories for guidance: information on climate–nature connections affecting risk exposures, information on trade-offs between actions to address climate-related and nature-related risks and opportunities, and information on co-benefits (synergies) created by integrated actions (IFRS Foundation, 2026c). The paper also points to signals of market demand for integrated disclosure, including a finding that 78% of surveyed entities that publish nature-related disclosures integrate them with climate-related reporting (n=241), and a survey result that 58% of 100 investor respondents think nature disclosure standards should not be separate from those on climate (IFRS Foundation, 2026c).

SASB Enhancements Driven By Consultation Scale

For the SASB Standards enhancements project, staff summarise feedback and next steps following a consultation that was open for 150 days (3 July 2025 to 30 November 2025). The ISSB reports receiving 238 comment letters and survey responses from 226 respondents on the July 2025 exposure draft, plus 91 responses on whether to make consequential amendments to the IFRS S2 industry-based guidance (IFRS Foundation, 2026i). Staff also report 183 outreach meetings reaching over 380 organisations and an online webcast attended by over 800 participants, illustrating the breadth of engagement and the operational burden of reviewing large, technical amendment packages (IFRS Foundation, 2026i).

Ratification And Due Process: 120 Days And 12–18 Months

The February 2026 SASB session is designed to support decisions on next steps, ratification of a new exposure draft of proposed amendments to three SASB Standards, and approval to ballot consequential amendments to the IFRS S2 industry-based guidance (IFRS Foundation, 2026f). Staff recommends a 120-day comment period and a target publication date for the exposure draft and accompanying basis for conclusions in March 2026 (IFRS Foundation, 2026h). The staff recommendation also proposes an effective date between 12 and 18 months after issuance, with early application permitted, noting that the current SASB Standards are effective for annual periods beginning on or after 1 January 2025 (IFRS Foundation, 2026h). Ratification of SASB amendments requires a supermajority, described as nine ISSB members in favour, with dissents (if any) explained in the approvals section (IFRS Foundation, 2026h).

Selected Draft Amendments: Agriculture And Animal Protein

The near-final draft package includes an exposure draft document (183 pages) and a basis for conclusions describing proposed amendments for Agricultural Products, Meat, Poultry & Dairy, and Electric Utilities & Power Generators (IFRS Foundation, 2026d; IFRS Foundation, 2026e). In Agricultural Products, the basis for conclusions describes a restructuring of supply chain content into new Environmental Supply Chain Management and Social Supply Chain Management topics, including metrics on deforestation- or conversion-free sourcing (FB-AG-430c.1) and identification of priority sourced agricultural products sensitive to nature- and climate-related physical risks in the supply chain (FB-AG-430c.2) (IFRS Foundation, 2026d). In Meat, Poultry & Dairy, staff propose adding a new sub-metric to gross global Scope 1 emissions (FB-MP-110a.1) for the percentage of Scope 1 emissions from methane, presented as a targeted disaggregation intended to complement IFRS S1 and IFRS S2 disclosures rather than duplicate them (IFRS Foundation, 2026d).

Selected Draft Amendments: Electric Utilities And System Reliability

For Electric Utilities & Power Generators, the basis for conclusions describes broadening “Nuclear Safety & Emergency Management” into “Critical Incident Risk Management,” and reframing “Grid Resiliency” as “Operational Resilience & System Reliability,” reflecting a wider set of grid risks (from extreme weather to cybersecurity) (IFRS Foundation, 2026d). Proposed changes include more decision-useful reliability disclosures (for example, guidance to disclose SAIDI, SAIFI, and CAIDI including and excluding major event days), plus an explicit climate physical risk disaggregation metric on the amount and percentage of assets vulnerable to climate-related physical risks, disaggregated by asset type and physical risk (IF-EU-550a.4) (IFRS Foundation, 2026d). The paper also notes jurisdictional sensitivity around cybersecurity disclosures and references IFRS S1 relief where law or regulation prohibits disclosure (IFRS Foundation, 2026d).

Implementation Readiness And Control Environment Implications

Across the draft amendments, the basis for conclusions emphasises complementarity to IFRS S2’s cross-industry greenhouse gas disclosure requirements, including an explicit decision not to add Scope 1, Scope 2, and Scope 3 metrics to all SASB Standards to avoid duplication, while adding more decision-useful sub-metrics such as the percentage of Scope 1 emissions subject to emissions-limiting regulations (IFRS Foundation, 2026d). Practically, this direction reinforces the need for disclosure-grade data lineage, definitional governance, and repeatable estimation methods across value-chain, sourcing, and asset-level datasets, particularly where new metrics imply traceability (for example, deforestation- or conversion-free claims) or hazard-based screening (for example, asset vulnerability to climate-related physical risks). Climate Risk Intelligence™ can support this type of implementation by converting hazard and exposure information into comparable, audit-supportable metrics aligned to standards definitions and connected-information expectations (IFRS Foundation, 2026c; IFRS Foundation, 2026d).

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. What is the ISSB discussing on 25–26 February 2026? The public agenda covers nature-related disclosure standard-setting on 25 February and the enhancement of the SASB Standards on 26 February, in a virtual meeting scheduled in CET (Frankfurt) (IFRS Foundation, 2026a).
2. What decisions are being asked on nature-related disclosures? Staff is asking the ISSB to confirm the essential terms and concepts for nature-related disclosure requirements, decide which terms should be defined rather than described, and consider changing the project title to “Nature-related Disclosures” (IFRS Foundation, 2026b).
3. How is climate connected to the nature workstream? Staff notes that climate is part of nature and that climate change can drive nature change, while emphasising that nature-related disclosure requirements would supplement, not replace, IFRS S2, and that entities should provide connected information where relevant (IFRS Foundation, 2026b; IFRS Foundation, 2026c).
4. What is the proposed consultation timeline for the SASB exposure draft? Staff recommends a 120-day comment period, a target publication date in March 2026, a proposed effective date between 12 and 18 months after issuance, and early application permitted (IFRS Foundation, 2026h).
5. Why are consequential amendments to IFRS S2 industry-based guidance being proposed? The IFRS S2 industry-based guidance is derived from the climate-related content in the SASB Standards and is intended to remain aligned; staff therefore recommend consequential amendments when SASB climate-related content is updated, and seek permission to begin the balloting process (IFRS Foundation, 2026g).

Sources

• IFRS Foundation. (2026a). Agenda: ISSB meeting, 25–26 February 2026 [PDF]. IFRS Sustainability.
• IFRS Foundation. (2026b). Biodiversity, ecosystems and ecosystem services: Essential terms and concepts for standard-setting on nature-related disclosure requirements (Agenda Paper 3A) [PDF]. IFRS Sustainability.
• IFRS Foundation. (2026c). Biodiversity, ecosystems and ecosystem services: Information on connections between climate- and nature-related risks and opportunities (Agenda Paper 3B) [PDF]. IFRS Sustainability.
• IFRS Foundation. (2026d). Draft for ISSB ratification: Basis for conclusions on proposed amendments to the SASB Standards and the IFRS S2 industry-based guidance (Agenda Paper 6E) [PDF]. IFRS Sustainability.
• IFRS Foundation. (2026e). Draft for ISSB ratification: Exposure draft of proposed amendments to the SASB Standards and IFRS S2 industry-based guidance (SASB-ED-2025-1; Agenda Paper 6D) [PDF]. IFRS Sustainability.
• IFRS Foundation. (2026f). Enhancing the SASB Standards: Cover note (Agenda Paper 6) [PDF]. IFRS Sustainability.
• IFRS Foundation. (2026g). Enhancing the SASB Standards: Due process steps and permission to ballot amendments to the Industry-based Guidance on Implementing IFRS S2 (Agenda Paper 6C) [PDF]. IFRS Sustainability.
• IFRS Foundation. (2026h). Enhancing the SASB Standards: Ratification of proposed amendments to the SASB Standards (Agenda Paper 6B) [PDF]. IFRS Sustainability.
• IFRS Foundation. (2026i). Enhancing the SASB Standards: Stakeholder feedback and project next steps (Agenda Paper 6A) [PDF]. IFRS Sustainability.
• IFRS Foundation. (2026j). International Sustainability Standards Board meeting calendar page: February 2026. IFRS Sustainability.

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