ESG frameworks — UK comparison — 2026 guide
Eight major ESG frameworks compared for UK preparers in 2026. UK SRS is the emerging mandatory baseline, IFRS S1/S2 is the global standard it inherits from, TCFD is being absorbed, GRI remains the impact-focused alternative, SASB brings industry-specific depth, CDP drives the climate questionnaire market, and ESRS/CSRD matters for EU subsidiaries.
Why so many frameworks?
Each framework emerged for a different audience and purpose. The consolidation toward UK SRS / IFRS doesn’t eliminate the others — it changes how UK companies map across them.
What each framework is
Glossary covering the eight frameworks every UK preparer encounters: origin, audience, materiality lens and UK relevance.
- UK SRS UK · Mandatory (proposed) from 2027
- UK Sustainability Reporting Standards— DBT-issued investor-focused standards built on IFRS S1/S2 with six UK amendments. Mandatory baseline for ~500 listed companies from 1 January 2027 under FCA CP26/5.
- IFRS S1 + S2 Global · Adopted by jurisdictions
- ISSB-issued global investor-focused sustainability standards (June 2023). IFRS S1: general requirements; IFRS S2: climate-specific. Adopted in UK as UK SRS; in Australia as ASRS; in Japan as JSSB. Foundation for global comparability.
- TCFD Disbanded · Absorbed
- Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures— voluntary framework from 2017 to 2023, four pillars and 11 recommendations. Disbanded October 2023; recommendations fully absorbed into IFRS S2 and therefore UK SRS S2. Still in force via UK Listing Rules until CP26/5 deletion in 2027.
- GRI Voluntary · Impact-focused
- Global Reporting Initiative — leading voluntary framework for multi-stakeholder sustainability reporting using impact materiality. Strong on social and biodiversity topics. Used by many UK companies for standalone sustainability reports alongside UK SRS for annual-report ESG disclosure.
- SASB Standards Industry-specific · IFRS-owned
- Sustainability Accounting Standards Board industry standards covering 77 industries. Now part of IFRS Foundation. Referenced by IFRS S1 (and therefore UK SRS S1, on optional basis under the UK amendment). The leading source of industry-specific KPIs.
- CDP Questionnaire · Voluntary
- CDP (formerly Carbon Disclosure Project) — annual questionnaire on climate, water and forests. ~25,000 companies disclose annually. Scoring A-D drives investor and supply-chain perception. Aligning with TCFD/IFRS S2 disclosures supports CDP A-list scoring.
- ESRS / CSRD EU · Mandatory
- European Sustainability Reporting Standards under the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive. Mandatory for ~50,000 EU companies on a phased basis. Uses double materiality. UK companies with EU subsidiaries face ESRS exposure. See CSRD vs UK SRS.
- UN Global Compact Voluntary · CSR-tinged
- Voluntary corporate citizenship initiative with 10 principles across human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption. Annual Communication on Progress (CoP) required. Less investor-focused than UK SRS / IFRS but valuable for stakeholder narratives.
Eight frameworks across nine dimensions
Audience, materiality, mandatory status, UK relevance, scope, level of detail, industry specificity, assurance compatibility and ISSB alignment.
Why UK SRS is becoming the centre of gravity
Five reasons UK preparers should organise around UK SRS even before mandatory application: investor demand, framework convergence, FCA regulation, supply chain pressure, and assurance readiness.
Why UK SRS will dominate UK ESG reporting
(1) FCA CP26/5 makes UK SRS S2 mandatory from 2027 for ~500 listed companies.
(2) Investor demand: most large UK asset managers have signed up to IFRS S1/S2-aligned engagement.
(3) Framework convergence: TCFD is absorbed, SASB is referenced, GRI is mapped.
(4) Supply chain pressure: large customers cascading UK SRS expectations to suppliers.
(5) Assurance readiness: ISSA (UK) 5000 from the FRC is being designed around UK SRS / IFRS S2 disclosures.
ESG frameworks — frequently asked
Which to use, multiple frameworks, UK SRS vs GRI, SASB status, and what replaced TCFD.
Which ESG framework should UK companies use?
UK SRS (built on IFRS S1 and S2) is the emerging mandatory baseline for UK listed companies and the recommended starting point for any UK preparer.
UK SRS is investor-focused, uses financial materiality, and from 2027 will be mandatory under FCA Listing Rules for ~500 listed companies.
Most large UK companies will need to align with UK SRS even if not yet caught — investors and supply-chain customers are increasingly demanding UK SRS-aligned reporting.
Do I need to report under multiple ESG frameworks?
Often yes, but the data set is largely common.
A UK listed company with EU operations might face: UK SRS S1+S2 (mandatory from 2027), SECR (currently mandatory), TCFD-aligned Listing Rules (currently mandatory), EU CSRD/ESRS (if EU subsidiary thresholds met), plus voluntary disclosures to investors via GRI (impact) and CDP (climate scoring).
The practical task is collecting data once and mapping across frameworks.
What is the difference between UK SRS and GRI?
UK SRS uses financial materiality (how ESG affects company value) and is investor-focused — same data set as IFRS S1/S2.
GRI uses impact materiality (how the company affects society and environment) and is multi-stakeholder focused.
Both can coexist: many UK companies use UK SRS for the annual report and GRI for the broader sustainability report addressing wider stakeholders.
Is SASB still relevant after the ISSB took over?
Yes.
SASB Standards are now owned by the IFRS Foundation alongside IFRS S1/S2 and remain the leading industry-specific sustainability disclosure standards.
IFRS S1 and S2 explicitly require companies to consider SASB-based industry-specific disclosures.
UK SRS keeps the SASB reference but makes its application optional (one of the six UK amendments).
What replaced TCFD?
IFRS S2 Climate-related Disclosures (issued by the ISSB in June 2023) fully incorporates the TCFD's four pillars and 11 recommendations.
The TCFD itself disbanded in October 2023, and the IFRS Foundation took over monitoring company progress from January 2024.
UK SRS S2 then layers six UK-specific amendments on top.
The FCA's CP26/5 proposes replacing the TCFD-aligned UK Listing Rules with mandatory UK SRS S2 from 2027.
The ESG guide set
From frameworks, continue to standards, criteria, practical reporting, software and strategy.
What is ESG?
Definition, history, three pillars, UK frameworks.
ArchitectureThe three ESG pillars
Environmental, Social, Governance — what each covers.
CompareESG vs CSR
Five differences between ESG and CSR.
StandardsESG standards — UK regulatory landscape
UK SRS, FCA SDR, SECR, SI 2022/31 — the standards-based regime.
CriteriaESG criteria
Practical criteria per pillar.
HubESG reporting — UK hub
Three-layer UK system; UK SRS backbone.
Related guides & references
Global sustainability standards landscape
Comprehensive view of the global sustainability standards landscape.
CSRD vs UK SRS
How EU CSRD and UK SRS differ on materiality, scope and timing.
TCFD framework — four pillars + 11 disclosures
The climate-specific framework UK SRS S2 is built on.
Primary references
IFRS Foundation, DBT, FCA, GRI, CDP and standards bodies cited throughout this page.