The International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) S1 and S2, which concentrate on general sustainability and climate-related disclosures, respectively, are being uniformly adopted and used, according to ESG Investor.

The ISSB intends to solve the current fragmented environment of sustainability reporting requirements, which has been a source of increasing costs, complexity, and risk for companies and investors alike. This approach has been praised by professionals in the field. Eric Pan, President and CEO of the Investment Company Institute, stated that "the best course of action the ISSB can take is one of patience and flexibility," highlighting the potential of the ISSB standards to improve investor confidence and global interoperability through improved comparability of reported information.

Taking into account the particular difficulties and expenses that organizations can encounter according to their level of readiness and particular conditions, the guidance is intended to help jurisdictions get beyond the obstacles in the way of putting these standards into practice. Beginning on January 1st, this year, it establishes transition reliefs and methods for proportionality for certain disclosure requirements in the initial reporting period. Moreover, it recognizes that certain jurisdictions must modify their current laws or policies in order to successfully implement or accept the ISSB Standards.

International law firm Allen & Overy has underlined the necessity for countries to customize reporting standards to local needs, even while the ISSB Standards provide as a framework. It does, however, imply that convergence is possible if additional countries come to understand the advantages of maximizing interoperability and strictly adhering to the standards.

Global consultations, including open consultations in China, Australia, Nigeria, and Malaysia, have supported the creation of the guide and are intended to increase stakeholder understanding and involvement in the sustainability reporting discourse. The Senior Sustainable Investing Product Manager at Northern Trust Asset Management, Jay Eisenhardt, stated that "there are 14 different countries at one point or another in the adoption process...representing 18% of the global large-cap universe." Given that countries pursuing the adoption of these standards account for about half of the worldwide market capitalization, this marks a critical juncture for sustainability reporting.

In summary, the ISSB's upcoming Jurisdictional Guide, which aims to create a world where financial disclosures are consistently and comparably disclosed across jurisdictions, is an important step towards eliminating the worldwide fragmentation of sustainability reporting. The financial sector is looking forward to a time when sustainability reporting not only satisfies international criteria but also skillfully takes into account regional variations as they wait for the guide to be finalized.