SASB

Also known as: Sustainability Accounting Standards Board

framework · governance and compliance · regulatory-standard

Industry-specific sustainability disclosure standards, now under the IFRS Foundation's ISSB.

SASB Standards are industry-specific sustainability disclosure standards developed for use by US-listed companies and their investors, covering 77 industries organized into 11 sectors via the Sustainable Industry Classification System (SICS). SASB was founded in 2011 by Jean Rogers as a US analogue to the FASB for sustainability information, focused explicitly on financial materiality to the reasonable investor — distinguishing it from the broader stakeholder orientation of GRI. After codification of its standards in 2018, SASB merged with the International Integrated Reporting Council in 2021 to form the Value Reporting Foundation, which was then consolidated into the IFRS Foundation in 2022 to form the basis of the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB). SASB Standards are now maintained as part of the ISSB's framework and are referenced in IFRS S1 (general sustainability) for industry-specific disclosure topics.

Originators

Jean Rogers (founder); SASB Foundation; subsequently Value Reporting Foundation (2021); IFRS Foundation/ISSB (2022 onward) high

Year / Decade

2011 (founded); 2018 (codified standards); 2021 (merger into VRF); 2022 (consolidation into IFRS Foundation) high

Primary sources

SASB (2018). SASB Standards (codified), IFRS Foundation (2023). IFRS S1 General Requirements for Disclosure of Sustainability-related Financial Information (incorporating SASB) high

Core components

77 industry standards across 11 sectors
Sustainable Industry Classification System (SICS)
Industry-specific disclosure topics and accounting metrics
Five sustainability dimensions (environment, social capital, human capital, business model and innovation, leadership and governance)
Financial materiality orientation
Now incorporated by reference in IFRS S1

Primary use case

Industry-specific sustainability disclosure for investors, primarily by US-listed companies; reference standard for materiality assessment; component of ISSB IFRS S1 implementation.

Common criticisms

Industry-specific approach can fragment cross-industry comparability
investor-only orientation rejected by stakeholder-focused critics
financial-materiality scoping narrower than double-materiality regimes (e.g., EU CSRD)
transition into ISSB has created some interpretation uncertainty for issuers with established SASB-aligned reporting
sector classification quirks for companies that span industries.

Lineage

Siblings: TCFD, GRI