Full application
Every material sustainability-related risk and opportunity under S1, with climate under S2.
No comparatives in year one (S1 ¶E3).IFRS S1 and IFRS S2 · the ISSB Standards
IFRS S1 and S2: two standards, one report
IFRS S1 sets the general requirements for disclosing sustainability-related financial information; IFRS S2 applies them to climate.
The ISSB issued them together in June 2023, and neither can be applied without the other.
This page sets them side by side, shows what S2 adds, and explains how the UK versions differ.
Before the detail
IFRS S1 and S2, in brief
IFRS S1’s full title is General Requirements for Disclosure of Sustainability-related Financial Information, and it applies to every sustainability-related risk and opportunity that could reasonably be expected to affect an entity’s prospects.
IFRS S2, Climate-related Disclosures, applies to climate-related physical risks, transition risks and opportunities (¶3).
“Prospects” means the entity’s cash flows, its access to finance or its cost of capital over the short, medium or long term, in both standards.
S1 is the frame and S2 is the first topic standard built inside it, so an S2 report always relies on S1 for materiality, location, timing and the statement of compliance.
Both are effective for IFRS purposes for annual reporting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2024, and each permits earlier application only if the other is applied at the same time (S1 ¶E1, S2 ¶C1).
Side by side
What each standard asks for
| IFRS S1 | IFRS S2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Scope | Sustainability-related risks and opportunities that could reasonably be expected to affect prospects | Climate-related physical risks, transition risks and opportunities (¶3) |
| Structure | ¶¶1–86 and Appendices A–E | ¶¶1–37 and Appendices A–C |
| Materiality | Defines it: could reasonably be expected to influence primary users’ decisions (¶18) | Uses S1’s definition |
| Core content | Governance, strategy, risk management, metrics and targets for each topic | The same four areas, with climate-specific limbs |
| Metrics | Metrics required by an applicable standard, the entity’s own metrics, and SASB metrics to consider (¶58(a)) | Seven cross-industry categories (¶29) and industry-based metrics (¶32) |
| Greenhouse gases | Not specified | Gross Scope 1, 2 and 3 in tonnes CO2e, GHG Protocol measurement, location-based Scope 2 |
| Forward-looking analysis | Resilience of strategy and business model | Climate resilience assessed using scenario analysis (¶22) |
| Transition plans | Not specified | Information about any climate-related transition plan the entity has (¶14) |
| Statement of compliance | Explicit and unreserved, only if all requirements are met (¶72) | Covered by S1 ¶72 |
| Effective date and reliefs | 1 January 2024; first-year comparatives, timing and climate-first reliefs (Appendix E) | 1 January 2024; first-year Scope 3 and measurement-method reliefs (Appendix C); amendments from 1 January 2027 |
Using both
How one report applies both standards
A company identifies its material sustainability-related risks and opportunities under IFRS S1, then applies IFRS S2 to the climate-related ones.
For any topic that has no specific standard, S1 ¶58(a) says the entity shall refer to and consider the applicability of the metrics in the SASB Standards, and may conclude they do not apply.
Governance can be reported once for several topics, so the climate governance disclosure need not be repeated topic by topic.
In the first annual reporting period, the climate-first relief lets a company report on climate alone.
The reliefs and their conditions are on effective date and reliefs.
First annual reporting period
A company applying IFRS S1 and S2 for the first time chooses one route.
A company applying IFRS S1 and S2 for the first time chooses one route.
Climate first
Climate only, applying S1 only so far as it relates to climate, and saying so (S1 ¶E5).
Other topics start in year two, without comparatives for them (S1 ¶E6).What S2 adds
Seven metric categories, plus industry metrics
IFRS S2 ¶29 requires information relevant to seven cross-industry metric categories, whatever the industry.
| Category | What IFRS S2 ¶29 asks for |
|---|---|
| Greenhouse gases | Absolute gross Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions in metric tonnes CO2e, measured under the GHG Protocol Corporate Standard (2004) unless a jurisdiction or exchange requires otherwise; the approach; location-based Scope 2; Scope 3 categories; financed emissions for asset managers, banks and insurers |
| Transition risks | The amount and percentage of assets or business activities vulnerable to transition risks |
| Physical risks | The amount and percentage of assets or business activities vulnerable to physical risks |
| Opportunities | The amount and percentage of assets or business activities aligned with climate-related opportunities |
| Capital deployment | Capital expenditure, financing or investment deployed towards climate-related risks and opportunities |
| Internal carbon prices | Whether and how a carbon price is used in decision-making, and the price per tonne |
| Remuneration | Whether and how climate is factored into executive remuneration, and the percentage of executive remuneration linked to it |
For the transition risk, physical risk and opportunity categories, ¶30 requires the entity to use all reasonable and supportable information available at the reporting date without undue cost or effort.
The December 2025 amendments added ¶¶29A–29C, which let an entity limit Category 15 Scope 3 emissions to financed emissions, with explanation.
IFRS S2 grew out of the TCFD recommendations, and the mapping from the eleven TCFD disclosures is on moving from TCFD.
In the UK
IFRS S1 and S2 in the UK: UK SRS S1 and S2
A UK company does not report against IFRS S1 and S2 to meet UK rules; it reports against UK SRS S1 and S2, the versions the government endorsed on 25 February 2026.
The UK removed the IFRS effective dates and the time limits on the climate-first and Scope 3 reliefs, and made a small number of other changes listed in Annex A; every one is on UK SRS amendments.
A company using the UK climate-first relief may not assert compliance with UK SRS S1, though it may still assert compliance with UK SRS S2 (UK SRS S1 ¶73A).
Under the FCA’s final rules, a listed company that does not meet UK SRS S2 summarises the requirements it has not met, the reasons and its plans (UKLR 6.6.6R(7A)).
For UK SRS S1 it names the risks or opportunities it has not reported on instead, which is why the two standards keep separate explain limbs (UKLR 6.6.6R(7B)).
A company that wants to state compliance with IFRS S1 and S2 as well must meet every IFRS requirement, including any the UK text changed (IFRS S1 ¶72).
The UK in four facts
- UK SRS S1 and S2 were issued on 25 February 2026, for voluntary use.
- They are IFRS S1 and S2 except where Annex A says otherwise.
- Listed companies in UKLR 6, 14, 15, 16 and 22 comply or explain from periods beginning on or after 1 January 2027.
- The explanation differs: by requirement for S2, by risk or opportunity for S1.
Frequently asked
IFRS S1 and S2, answered
What is the difference between IFRS S1 and IFRS S2?
IFRS S1 is the general standard: it tells an entity how to identify, judge and disclose every sustainability-related risk and opportunity that could affect its prospects, and sets the rules on materiality, the reporting entity, location, timing and the statement of compliance.
IFRS S2 applies that architecture to climate and adds specific requirements, including Scope 1, 2 and 3 greenhouse gas emissions, climate scenario analysis, transition plan information and industry-based metrics.
Can a company apply IFRS S2 without IFRS S1?
No. Each standard requires the other: IFRS S1 ¶E1 and IFRS S2 ¶C1 permit earlier application only if the other standard is applied at the same time.
What a company can do, in its first annual reporting period, is use the climate-first relief in IFRS S1 ¶E5: report on climate only and apply S1 only so far as it relates to climate.
When were IFRS S1 and S2 issued?
Together, in June 2023, by the International Sustainability Standards Board.
Both are effective for annual reporting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2024 where they have been adopted.
IFRS S2 was amended in December 2025.
Is IFRS S1 about ESG in general?
It covers any sustainability-related risk or opportunity that could reasonably be expected to affect the entity’s cash flows, access to finance or cost of capital.
That can include water, workforce, supply chains or nature, but only through the financial lens: the test is what investors, lenders and other creditors need, not the company’s impact on the world.
What does IFRS S2 require that TCFD did not?
IFRS S2 builds on the TCFD’s four pillars and makes them requirements, then adds detail: Scope 3 emissions measured under the GHG Protocol, location-based Scope 2, financed emissions for banks, insurers and asset managers, seven cross-industry metric categories including the internal carbon price and remuneration, and industry-based metrics.
Are IFRS S1 and S2 mandatory?
Only where a jurisdiction requires them.
The IFRS Foundation says companies in 12 jurisdictions are reporting on ISSB Standards for 2025.
In the UK, listed companies in five categories meet the UK versions, UK SRS S1 and S2, on a comply-or-explain basis from accounting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2027.
What are UK SRS S1 and S2?
The UK-endorsed versions of IFRS S1 and S2, issued by the government on 25 February 2026 for voluntary use.
They are the IFRS texts except where Annex A of the government’s consultation response says otherwise: the UK removed the effective dates and the time limits on the climate-first and Scope 3 reliefs, leaving their length to regulation, and made a small number of other changes.
Can a company say it complies with IFRS S1 and S2 if it uses a relief?
Yes for the transition reliefs, which are part of the standards.
IFRS S1 ¶72 requires an explicit and unreserved statement of compliance only where the disclosures comply with all the requirements, and forbids describing them as compliant otherwise.
Separately, the exemptions for information that law prohibits or that is commercially sensitive do not prevent a statement of compliance.
Sources
Primary sources
Every figure, date and status on this page traces to the instrument’s owner.
Secondary commentary is never the source for a number.
Checked against 14 sources fromIFRS FoundationDepartment for Business and TradeFinancial Conduct Authority
- IFRS FoundationIFRS S1 General Requirements, full text (June 2023)
Objective, ¶18 materiality, ¶58 sources of guidance, ¶72 statement of compliance, Appendix E.
- IFRS FoundationIFRS S2 Climate-related Disclosures, full text (December 2025)
¶¶1–4 objective and scope, ¶29 cross-industry metrics, ¶32 industry-based metrics, Appendix C.
- IFRS FoundationIFRS S1 — Navigator page
Earlier application permitted “as long as IFRS S2 Climate-related Disclosures is also applied”.
- IFRS FoundationIFRS S2 — Navigator page and standard history
Builds on the TCFD recommendations and incorporates SASB-derived industry requirements.
- IFRS FoundationISSB issues targeted amendments to IFRS S2 (11 December 2025)
Greenhouse gas reliefs, effective 1 January 2027.
- IFRS FoundationTCFD and the IFRS Foundation
Monitoring of climate-related disclosures moved to the IFRS Foundation in 2024.
- IFRS FoundationSASB Standards
The industry standards IFRS S1 directs preparers to consider for topics other than climate.
- IFRS FoundationWorld Standard-setters Conference 2026 — ISSB update (PDF)
Companies in 12 jurisdictions reporting on ISSB Standards for FY2025.
- Department for Business and TradeUK SRS S1 and UK SRS S2 (25 February 2026)
The UK-endorsed versions, for voluntary use.
- Department for Business and TradeUK SRS S1 (PDF)
The UK text of the general requirements.
- Department for Business and TradeUK SRS S2 (PDF)
The UK text of the climate standard.
- Department for Business and TradeConsultation response (PDF), Annex A
The differences between UK SRS and IFRS S1 and S2.
- Financial Conduct AuthorityPS26/19 final rules (30 September 2026)
Comply or explain against UK SRS S1 and S2 for periods beginning on or after 1 January 2027.
- Financial Conduct AuthorityPS26/19 (PDF), ¶3.14 and Appendix 1, UKLR 6.6.6R(7A) and (7B)
The separate explain limbs for S2 and S1, and the climate-first relief.
Continue reading
Read next
The UK
ISSB reporting requirements in the UK
What a UK company must report, and when it uses ISSB directly.
The hub
IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards
The whole ISSB family, the adoption picture and the UK route.
The general standard
IFRS S1
The general requirements, paragraph by paragraph.
The climate standard
IFRS S2
The climate standard, paragraph by paragraph.
Dates
Effective date and reliefs
When the standards apply, and every first-year relief.
The UK
UK SRS S1 and S2
The UK versions and the FCA’s comply-or-explain rules.
Industry standards
SASB Standards
The industry metrics IFRS S1 directs preparers to consider.