Our Mission
The mission of the Canadian Sustainability Standards Board (CSSB) is to serve the public interest by:
- setting and maintaining high-quality sustainability disclosure standards for Canadian entities; and
- contributing to the development of high-quality, internationally recognized sustainability disclosure standards.
Our Objectives
- To set and maintain Canadian Sustainability Disclosure Standards (CSDSs) that:
- address the sustainability information needs of capital markets; and
- improve the reporting of sustainability information by Canadian entities with due consideration for the costs and the benefits to the preparers and users of such sustainability information.
- To participate with other standard setters in the development of global best practices in setting sustainability disclosure standards which are adopted or separately developed by the CSSB to reflect the Canadian context.
- To support the implementation of such sustainability disclosure standards.
- To set high-quality standards that promote confidence in reported sustainability information.
Overview
The CSSB was established in June 2022 as the result of an early recommendation from the Independent Review Committee on Standard Setting in Canada (IRCSS). The IRCSS was tasked by the existing accounting and audit standard-setting oversight councils to review standard setting in Canada. The Committee released its final recommendations in March 2023 after extensive public input.
Among other important conclusions, the IRCSS recommended that establishing the CSSB was warranted due to rapidly increasing changes in this area, including the following:
- Investors and other interested and affected parties demanding higher-quality information and insights beyond conventional financial statements, including about climate and other environmental, social, and governance matters.
- The existing – and growing – variety of sustainability-reporting standards, metrics, and frameworks have different requirements and often inconsistent application.
- Interested and affected parties expressing an urgent need for transparency, consistency, and comparability in sustainability reporting, and alignment with the International Sustainability Standards Board’s (ISSB) global framework.
- The progress of international reporting on sustainability is accelerating. So, it is important to ensure Canadian standards are relevant, responsive, and fit for purpose in Canada, and focus on matters material to the decisions of investors and other participants in the world’s capital markets.
In November 2021, the Trustees of the IFRS Foundation announced the formation of the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB). The ISSB is developing, in the public interest, standards that will set a high-quality, comprehensive global baseline of sustainability disclosures focused on the needs of investors and the financial markets. In June 2023, the ISSB launched its inaugural standards: IFRS S1 General Requirements for Disclosure of Sustainability-related Financial Information and IFRS S2 Climate-related Disclosures. The CSSB was founded in part to further their adoption and to ensure that CSDSs are fit for purpose for the Canadian context.
The CSSB reached a quorum of members in June 2023 and reached its current level of 12 members in September 2023.
In response to the rapidly evolving international sustainability disclosure landscape and to prepare Canada’s marketplace, the CSSB focused on three priority areas during its first year:
2025 Annual Plan
This document represents the CSSB’s inaugural work plan. The Board is committed to, and is advancing, the following priority projects for the fiscal year that is already underway:
- Approve proposed CSDS 1, CSDS 2, and the related Criteria for Modification Framework
- Develop a multi-year strategic plan and seek Oversight Council approval
- Develop a work plan to advance trust and relationship-building with Indigenous Peoples
- Support implementation of the CSDSs
Trust and relationship-building with Indigenous Peoples
The CSSB is dedicated to upholding the rights of Indigenous Peoples and ensuring their meaningful participation in shaping sustainability disclosure standards in Canada. Advancing reconciliation with First Nation, Métis, and Inuit Peoples in Canada (“Indigenous Peoples”) is fundamental to the work of Canadian standard setting for sustainability-related disclosures. The Board is furthering our commitment by engaging in a work plan to advance trust and relationship-building with Indigenous Peoples that consists of:
- a 12-month, multi-modal education program for CSSB members;
- continuous trust- and relationship-building with Indigenous Peoples, communities, organizations, and leaders to build awareness of the CSSB, the work that we do;
- co-develop pathways for Indigenous Peoples to participate in standard setting for sustainability-related disclosures; and
- the development of an Indigenous Peoples–specific component to the CSSB’s multi-year strategic plan in collaboration with Indigenous Peoples through outreach and events.
The CSSB has begun the 12-month education program noted above.
Supporting implementation of the CSDSs
The CSSB will advance the implementation of the CSDSs. Our consultation on proposed CSDS 1, CSDS 2, and the related Criteria for Modification Framework received a high volume of engaged and insightful responses from Canadian entities and individuals. Although it will take time to fully analyze the results, an early finding is the benefit of engaging with interested and affected parties to support the implementation of the CSDSs and the Framework. This will include helping to build awareness about the CSSB’s role, its rationale behind key elements of the CSDSs and the Framework (including the Basis for Conclusions), and how these voluntary standards can be implemented to benefit Canadian entities. Interested and affected parties may include, but not be limited to, Indigenous Peoples, government officials, regulators, policy makers, industry groups, and members of the business community.
Operational projects
While these priority projects will define the CSSB’s work for the ongoing fiscal year, the Board will also take on several operational projects to improve its functionality, including:
- finalizing the 2025 Annual Plan;
- developing a 2026 Annual Plan;
- publishing a 2025 Annual Report;
- updating and approving the Board’s key governance documents;
- strengthening the Board’s outreach function;
- contributing to the ISSB’s ongoing research program; and
- engaging in a Board governance educational program
Completing the four priority projects and advancing the operational projects will result in several tangible achievements for the CSSB in 2025:
- issuing CSDS 1, CSDS 2, and the Criteria for Modification Framework (and supporting their implementation);
- proposing a strategic plan;
- launching a substantive workplan for engagement with Indigenous Peoples, including the four components described above, and
- enhancing and strengthening the Board’s overall operational maturity.
These projects constitute the CSSB’s 2025 Annual Plan.