SAN FRANCISCO/LONDON, March 15, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Value Reporting Foundation today announced that Japanese translations are now available for the SASB Standards, which are available for 77 industries. The Japanese translations follow the French, German and Spanish translations.
“Japan has long been a leader in ESG disclosure. I am pleased that today’s publication of Japanese translations of the SASB Standards will help businesses meet the ESG information needs of investors, especially amidst this time of growing consensus around the need for a global baseline of sustainability disclosure standards and the launch of the ISSB,” says Value Reporting Foundation CEO Janine Guillot.
Japan-domiciled companies that are using the SASB Standards as part of their public reports include Daiwa Securities Group, Konica Minolta, Tokyo Electric Power Company, Toshiba and Toyota. Investors in Japan who support SASB disclosure include Asset Management One, the Dai-ichi Life Insurance Company, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking and Nissay Asset Management.
Mr. Yamaji Hiromi, President & CEO of Tokyo Stock Exchange, Inc. (TSE) and Director & Representative Executive Officer, Group COO of Japan Exchange Group, Inc. (JPX) said, “Stock exchanges play an important role in encouraging ESG disclosure. JPX Group especially appreciates standards which help companies link their sustainability activities to corporate value. The publication of Japanese translations of SASB Standards will make the Standards more accessible and easier to use by companies of all sizes in Japan. We applaud their publication.”
As SASB Standards have become more widely used internationally, the SASB Standards Technical Staff has found that the applicability of select disclosure topics or accounting metrics may be limited due to regional or jurisdictional differences. The SASB Standards Application Guidance and Implementation Primer (also available in Japanese) provide guidance on how to disclose modifications made to metrics to improve their applicability to a particular company. Additionally, the Staff is working to enhance the international applicability of SASB Standards via its Standards Internationalization Advancement Project.
This internationalization work will be continued by the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) when the Value Reporting Foundation consolidates into the IFRS Foundation in June 2022. As part of this consolidation, the SASB Standards will ultimately transition into IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards using ISSB due process. Businesses should continue to use the SASB Standards, as efforts put into disclosure now will help preparers implement the IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards in the future.
The translated Standards and underlying translation glossary were reviewed by executives at KPMG Japan (Partner Yoshiko Shibasaka, Partner Sakurako Ohtsuki, Partner Norie Takahashi, Partner Kyoichi Seishi, Partner Tsuneo Miyamoto, Partner Yoshihiro Uehara, Senior Manager Sumika Hashimoto, Senior Manager Satoko Tsukimine, Senior Manager Yuki Shirasawa, Senior Manager Takeshi Yasuike, Senior Manager Keisuke Inoue, Manager Shotaro Kanatani, Manager Yuri Kasahara, Manager Kosuke Kanemori, Manager Masato Sawai and Assistant Manager Yuki Ito) and PricewaterhouseCoopers Aarata LLC (Partner Hidetoshi Tahara, Manager Mie Harunaga, Senior Associate Rikako Ueno, Senior Associate Tetsuro Kitamura, Associate Mitsuhiro Hattori and Associate Noriko Hoshino). The Value Reporting Foundation is grateful for their support.
To download the translated Standards, click here.
VRF will host a launch webinar with JPX soon. Please wait for further announcement on the VRF and JPX websites.
About the Value Reporting Foundation
The Value Reporting Foundation is a global nonprofit organization that offers a comprehensive suite of resources designed to help businesses and investors develop a shared understanding of enterprise value—how it is created, preserved or eroded over time. The resources — including Integrated Thinking Principles, the Integrated Reporting Framework and SASB Standards — can be used alone or in combination, depending on business needs. These tools, already adopted in over 70 countries, comprise the 21st century market infrastructure needed to develop, manage and communicate strategy that creates long-term value and drives improved performance. To learn more, visit www.valuereportingfoundation.org.
