THE Advisory Committee on Sustainability Reporting (ACSR), chaired by the Securities Commission Malaysia (SC), will be conducting an online public consultation in February on the use of the sustainability disclosure standards in Malaysia.

During the six-week online public consultation, the public can share views and feedback on the implementation approach of the standards by the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB).

Other considerations on which the public can provide feedback include timing and assurance of sustainability disclosures in Malaysia, said SC on Monday (Jan 8)

The ACSR, supported by the Ministry of Finance in Malaysia, comprises representatives from Bank Negara Malaysia, Bursa Malaysia Berhad, Companies Commission of Malaysia, Audit Oversight Board and Financial Reporting Foundation.

Kamarudin Hashim, SC managing director and chairman of ACSR, highlighted that while the immediate consideration is for the ISSB standards to be applied to listed issuers, ACSR is also considering requesting sustainability-related action and information from non-listed issuers.

“As such, we strongly encourage all stakeholders, including preparers, investors, sustainability assurance providers, rating agencies and others to share their views, as this will help shape the national sustainability reporting framework,” he said.

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The ISSB developed its first two standards, IFRS S1 General Requirements for Disclosure of Sustainability-related Financial Information and IFRS S2 Climate-related Disclosures, in June 2023 after extensive calls from the G20 and other parties for a common standard to disclose sustainability information, including climate-related risks and opportunities.

The standards have also received support from investors with more than US$120 trillion of assets under management at the recent UN Climate Change Conference (COP28), SC noted.

The SC highlighted that a robust assurance framework is important to ensure the disclosure reliability and mitigate greenwashing risks.

“To facilitate fund raising, the availability of reliable and comparable disclosure that is based on international standards is important,” said SC chairman Dr Awang Adek Hussin.

“Equally important will be the exercise of proportionality in the use of these standards and for interoperability between global and domestic frameworks, to ease some of the challenges companies may face as they transition to the new standards,” he added.