IFRS Sustainability licensing FAQs

IFRS S1, IFRS S2 and the SASB Standards are free for non-commercial use, such as corporate disclosure.

There is no obligation for companies to report their IFRS Sustainability-aligned disclosures to IFRS Sustainability technical staff, as this information is designed to be in the public domain. For licensees interested in a list of companies making disclosures consistent with IFRS S1, IFRS S2 and SASB Standards, please see our list of reporting companies.

Licensing IFRS S1, IFRS S2 and the SASB Standards grants organisations the rights and permissions to integrate this content into their systems, products and/or services. Current licensees include asset managers, data and analytics firms and software providers.

The SASB Standards Consultant Content Programme offers the following content resources to help corporate sustainability consultants inform their clients:

• Two exclusive update briefings per year to access emerging information about use of SASB Standards
• Updated SASB Standards slide decks explaining the SASB Standards and where they fit in the broader ESG ecosystem
• A listing in the SASB Standards Consultant Content Programme directory
• Use of the SASB Standards Consultant Content Programme logo

For more information about the Consultant Content Programme, please contact us.

Please email sustainability_licensing@ifrs.org and we will get back to you quickly to explore your interest.

Commercial use of IFRS S1, IFRS S2, the SASB Standards and related IP is permissible when a licensing agreement is in place with the IFRS Foundation. Commercial use of this content in the absence of such an agreement violates the copyright protections of IFRS Foundation Intellectual Property.

Examples of non-commercial and commercial use are included below:

Non-commercial use:

• Using the Standards for your industry (or industries) to collect data and report your organisation’s performance internally or externally
• Consulting the Materiality Finder to learn about SASB Standards
• Using IFRS S1, IFRS S2 and the SASB Standards for engagement with portfolio companies
• Using IFRS S1, IFRS S2 and the SASB Standards for manager selection and/or evaluation (limited to asset owners)
• Referencing IFRS S1, IFRS S2 and the SASB Standards in proxy voting guidelines or investment policies
• Publishing an article or non-commercial content that includes limited content from IFRS S1, IFRS S2, the SASB Standards or other IFRS sustainability resources

Commercial use:

• Incorporating the Materiality Map™ (or a substantial reproduction of the Materiality Map™) into an internal research database
• Using IFRS S1, IFRS S2 and the SASB Standards (or a substantial reproduction of these Standards) to rate or evaluate companies
• Mapping IFRS S1, IFRS S2, the SASB Standards or the Materiality Map™ to a third-party data vendor and/or ESG ratings vendor
• Incorporating IFRS S1, IFRS S2 and the SASB Standards into investible products, ratings products or products offering ESG data
• Incorporating IFRS S1, IFRS S2 and the SASB Standards into research reports or analytics platforms
• Using IFRS S1, IFRS S2 and the SASB Standards for manager selection and/or evaluation in an investment process on behalf of fee-paying clients
• Using IFRS S1, IFRS S2 and the SASB Standards in a consultative or advisory basis

The content available to license includes:

• IFRS S1 General Requirements for Disclosure of Sustainability-related Financial Information at different levels of granularity to best suit your organisation’s needs
• IFRS S2 Climate-related Disclosures at different levels of granularity to best suit your organisation’s needs
• The SASB Standards (and Materiality Map™) at different levels of granularity to best suit your organisation’s needs
• Mappings to third-party frameworks and data providers such as the Sustainable Development Goals and third-party raters and rankers such as (MSCI, Sustainalytics and others).
• A database of 90,000+ public entity ISINs mapped to their respective industry within the Sustainable Industry Classification System® (SICS®)
• SASB Standards disclosure topics and the corresponding impact on financial drivers
• SASB Standards disclosure topics and the corresponding climate risks from the TCFD and the SASB Climate Risk Technical Bulletin
• SASB Standards corporate engagement questions for all 77 SICS® industries
• SASB Standards disclosure topics and the corresponding industry working group (IWG) materiality ratings

IFRS S1, IFRS S2, the SASB Standards, evidence behind the Standards, the Sustainable Industry Classification System® (SICS®) and links to third-party data sets are updated periodically as standard-setting projects conclude or as third parties evolve their methodologies. All licensees will be provided with resources to account for any changes to ensure seamless updates and integration. Technical staff update the database of 90,000+ public entity ISINs mapped to their respective SICS® industry on a quarterly basis. These updates will be delivered by the 15th day of each new quarter.

Yes, and they can be accessed through a formal licensing agreement. If you would like access to and the rights to use this content in your commercial activities, please email sustainability_licensing@ifrs.org.

No-cost academic licenses are available. For requests, please contact sustainability_licensing@ifrs.org with details about your research so we can identify the tools to best support your work.

Yes, IFRS S1, IFRS S2 and SASB Standards content can be referenced in articles, reports and other educational publications. Please email sustainability_licensing@ifrs.org and describe your considered use to get started and receive appropriate permissions.

No. The SASB Foundation was, and the IFRS Foundation is, an independent standard setter. We do not assess individual companies on their performance on ESG issues. If you’d like to learn more about how IFRS S1, IFRS S2 and the SASB Standards are used by ESG rating and ranking organisations, email sustainability_licensing@ifrs.org.

In generating a unique ESG score for listed companies, R-Factor™ leverages SASB Standards—which are focused on the subset of ESG factors most likely to have material financial impacts on a company in a given industry—to screen performance data from multiple sources.

Because indexes and the funds that track them represent an important opportunity for investors to allocate capital in alignment with the SASB Standards industry-based approach to ESG investing, the IFRS Foundation licenses SASB Standards for the creation of indexes and investible products. We approach these agreements with a few guiding principles:

• The IFRS Foundation contributes the industry-based SASB Standards but does not rate company performance on the standards. Rating, ranking, and scoring is the role of licensees.
• We work with multiple providers, each of which makes its own judgments about applying the Standards in investment decisions.
• We encourage licensees to build products based on company performance—not transparency alone.

The Bloomberg SASB ESG index family was launched in September 2019. The Bloomberg SASB ESG index family incorporates R-Factor™, an ESG scoring system developed by State Street Global Advisors. In generating a unique ESG score for listed companies, R-Factor™ leverages SASB standards—which are focused on the subset of ESG factors most likely to have material financial impacts on a company in a given industry—to screen performance data from multiple sources. This ensures R-Factor scores are driven by the ESG factors most important to investors.

There are a range of other indices powered by SASB Standards in various stages of planning and development. One other example in the market today is ET Research’s Engaged Tracking Low Carbon Index Series, the only low-carbon index series on the market that is based on a public, transparent carbon ranking of each constituent company.

No. Third-party providers license the SASB Standards for use in scoring. As an example, the Bloomberg SASB ESG index family incorporates R-Factor™, an ESG scoring system developed by State Street Global Advisors. In generating a unique ESG score for listed companies, R-Factor™ leverages SASB Standards—which are focused on the subset of ESG factors most likely to have material financial impacts on a company in a given industry—to screen performance data from multiple sources. This ensures R-Factor scores are driven by the ESG factors most important to investors.