IFRS Knowledge Hub vs GRI’s Sustainability Innovation Lab
Two new platforms have been launched in recent weeks to help companies disclose on responsible business and sustainability. But what’s the difference?
IFRS Knowledge Hub:
At COP, the IFRS Foundation launched a new Sustainability Knowledge Hub designed to support the new standards in 2024. It boasts over 100 resources developed by third parties and will grow over time. Think frameworks, disclosure standards, reporting guidance - all in once place. That’s the ambition. But will it work?
It’s designed to help companies preparing ISSB disclosures - but it will also be of interest to investors, auditors, regulators and non-profits that want to delve into the detail in and around the new standards: https://www.ifrs.org/sustainability/knowledge-hub/
This is designed to be the go-to hub for detail on IFRS standards.
GRI’s Sustainability Innovation Lab: GRI joined forces with the IFRS Foundation last month to create a new platform for “professional development, training, practical solutions and innovative thinking”. The Lab designed to help companies report using the GRI Standards as well as the IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards. The alignment between the two is a very welcome step, particularly given GRI’s key role in the CSRD requirements in Europe.
Launched in Singapore, it is global but sounds like it’s focus will initially be on Asia. The scope is ambitious as GRI has promised it will “provide capacity building within supply chains” and “support stakeholders and all market participants on their disclosure journeys, guiding them to address disparities in sustainability reporting requirements while supporting the further harmonization of the reporting landscape at the global level”.
The Single AccessPoint for ESG Data Initiative will be a key part of this platform and the launch event also called for funders to help scale it.
With the rollout of new standards, and IFRS’s involvement in both platforms, it will be interesting to watch how far these initiatives can help companies navigate the new landscape and disclose more transparently and consistently. Interoperability and digital taxonomies are going to be two key ideas we’ll be hearing a lot more about over the coming years.