Why Canadian Sustainability Standards Board Chair calls sustainability disclosures "table stakes"

In this episode of the All Things Sustainable podcast, we're examining global uptake of standards created by the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB).

The ISSB launched in 2021 to create standardized sustainability reporting rules, establishing its first two standards in 2023. Since then, around 40 jurisdictions have either adopted ISSB standards or are planning to adopt them in future.

Canada was one of the early adopters, and in today's episode we speak to Wendy Berman, Chair of the Canadian Sustainability Standards Board (CSSB), which formed in 2022.

Wendy explains the challenges Canadian companies face in adopting sustainability standards in a tense geopolitical environment and her expectations for greater global convergence in sustainability reporting.

"Despite these headwinds, we're not seeing any significant pullback in Canadian companies on their journey to full implementation of these standards," Wendy says. "They see sustainability issues as mainstream business risks and opportunities, and they're advancing on their journey."

She also explains how the CSSB is working with the ISSB to embed the interests of Canada's Indigenous peoples into sustainability standards. "It's important to have Indigenous rights, interests and voices heard by the ISSB," Wendy says.

We'll be back in upcoming podcast episodes to explore how other jurisdictions are adopting ISSB standards. In the meantime, you can read our latest quarterly tracker on ISSB adoption: May 2026 – Where does the world stand on ISSB adoption? | S&P Global

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