Nature Is Already a Reporting Obligation: What the ISSB’s April 2026 Decision Means for You

On 22 April 2026, the ISSB voted to develop nature-related disclosure guidance through a non-mandatory IFRS Practice Statement, with an exposure draft targeted for October 2026 to coincide with CBD COP17. The decision does not introduce new requirements — it clarifies that IFRS S1 already requires material nature-related disclosures today.

ISSB Chair Emmanuel Faber was explicit: providing material nature-related disclosures is not optional. The Practice Statement will draw directly on the TNFD framework, which over 700 organisations globally have already indicated alignment with. Jurisdictions will be able to mandate the Practice Statement, giving it the effective force of a standard.

Nature-related risks — biodiversity loss, water stress, land degradation — are already in scope under IFRS S1 where financially material. The World Economic Forum estimates that more than $44 trillion of annual economic output is moderately or highly dependent on natural systems, with a 2025 Ceres report pricing nature loss at up to $430 billion per year across eight major sectors.

For EU reporters, ESRS E4 already requires biodiversity and ecosystem assessments under double materiality. The ISSB Practice Statement will operate on a financial materiality basis, so multinationals will need to manage coherence between the two regimes. EFRAG’s 2026 work programme is actively advancing interoperability.

The wait-and-see window has closed. Companies should screen dependencies, update materiality frameworks, begin TNFD alignment, and integrate nature into enterprise risk management before the October 2026 exposure draft lands.