Today the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) Foundation announced the creation of a new standard-setting board to deliver a comprehensive global baseline of sustainability-related disclosure standards. Going forward, these standards are meant to provide investors and other capital market participants with information about companies’ sustainability-related risks and opportunities to help them make informed decisions. This International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) will have a global and multi-location presence; the seat of the Board and the office of the Chair will be in Frankfurt.

Deutsche Börse welcomes this decision as vital for the global efforts to further push ESG as indispensable component of a future-oriented and sustainable economy.

“Deutsche Börse has been at the forefront of the transition towards a more sustainable economy, offering access to ESG products and marketplaces across all asset classes,” said Theodor Weimer, CEO of Deutsche Börse. “Be it our family of sustainability indices or the provision of ESG data, analytics and proxy voting services via ISS: all our business areas a geared to support the transformation. Transparency and clear standards will be crucial components in this transition, and I expressly welcome the IFRS’ decision to locate the new International Sustainability Standards Board in Frankfurt. It pays testament to the important role of our financial center in Europe and the world, and will benefit from the sense of innovation and deep conviction of all local players that sustainability has become the decisive factor – not a nice-to-have – for the wellbeing of our global economies and societies.”