The IFRS Foundation announced the launch of a new strategic partnership with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and IDB Group’s private sector arm IDB Invest, aimed at promoting the adoption and implementation of the IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards across Latin America and the Caribbean.

The IFRS Foundation launched its International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) in November 2021 at the COP26 climate conference, with the goal to develop IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards to provide investors with information about companies’ sustainability risks and opportunities. The IFRS released its inaugural general sustainability (IFRS S1) and climate (IFRS S2) reporting standards in June 2023.

Following the release of the standards last year, IOSCO, the leading international policy forum and standards setter for securities regulators called on regulators to incorporate the standards into their sustainability reporting regulatory frameworks. To date, more than 35 jurisdictions have started the process to use the standards.

According to the IFRS Foundation, the new partnership aims to accelerate the adoption of the standards in Latin America and the Caribbean countries.

Michel Madelain, IFRS Foundation Managing Director, said:

“Public authorities across Latin America and the Caribbean have signalled their belief that IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards can help strengthen capital markets, enhancing transparency and understanding around sustainability-related risks and opportunities. Our partnership with the Inter-American Development Bank Group, will deliver to these markets critical support to benefit from the full potential of effective sustainability-related disclosure in the region.”

The new partnership is being launched with an action plan encompassing knowledge sharing, capacity building and policy engagement. Key focus areas include supporting regulators through the IDB and private institutions through IDB Invest to strengthen sustainability and climate-related risk disclosures, providing targeted technical assistance and policy dialogue to help countries adopt and implement the sustainability reporting standards, developing a policy paper on the benefits of adoption, piloting a self-assessment tool for private banks, and producing a regional case study. The organizations added that they will also work with public and private stakeholders to build capacity, address local needs, and promote regulatory alignment through the partnership, and that the IDB will also align its own disclosures with IFRS standards through a multi-year roadmap.

Ilan Goldfajn, IDB President, said:

“The IFRS standards help issuers, investors and regulators make informed decisions and align incentives. Transparency builds trust. This partnership is about accelerating the adoption process across the region and help in its implementation.”