The REP Wrap: ISSB to issue nature guidance

Your weekly summary of corporate sustainability news.

The International Sustainability Standards Board has confirmed it won’t provide official reporting standards for nature, but will instead issue an ‘IFRS practice statement’ on the topic, a draft of which it plans to publish in October. That practice statement could potentially become its own standard further down the line. 

Nine influential organisations have teamed up to set standards for sustainable data centres. A new initiative called GADCC will develop “transparent benchmarks that define what ‘green’ genuinely means for data centres”, addressing water and energy consumption, noise pollution and job creation. Founding members include the Climate Bonds Initiative, the Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark and the World Green Building Council.   

The CEO of Europe’s biggest asset owner has said that employee ownership should “be on every board’s agenda” – especially as artificial intelligence transforms the global economy. Nicolai Tangen, who heads Norges Bank Investment Management, wrote on LinkedIn that such models were potentially good for business. 

The Federal Court of Australia has dismissed a greenwashing case against Woodside Energy, in the latest sign that legal appetite for such challenges may be waning. The case was brought by Greenpeace Australia Pacific in 2023, and alleged that Woodside misrepresented its climate performance and plans. A spokesperson for Greenpeace, which agreed to the dismissal, said Woodside had changed how it presented its plans on carbon emissions since the case was filed. In February, the same federal court ruled in favour of Santos in a similar case brought by the Australasian Council for Corporate Responsibility. 

The International Transition Plan Network has updated its interactive map that covers the approaches of different jurisdictions when it comes to requirements for disclosing climate strategies. It contains reflections on current trends.