In collaboration with Social Value International and input from GSG National Partners, we submitted our response to the International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board (IPSASB)’s open consultation on their inaugural Sustainability Reporting Standards (SRS).

About IPSASB

The IPSASB has set standards for over 25 years to guide public sector entities, focusing on transparency and public interest. Its SRS, based on ISSB and GRI frameworks, aim to enhance transparency and accountability in how governments and public institutions report on their climate-related impacts.

Our vision

As part of our broader vision of mandatory impact accounting by all actors, enhancing impact transparency in public sector accounting is essential. Public reporting should go beyond financial metrics to include meaningful, comparable, and reliable information about social and environmental impacts, granting citizens and decision-makers a deeper understanding of impacts and dependencies within their national economies.

Key messages from our response:

• The current materiality definition risks overlooking impacts on service recipients’ well-being by focusing too narrowly on financial returns. Public sector SRSs should prioritize well-being as the core objective, with fiscal sustainability as a means to support it over time.

• Defining materiality for diverse users with conflicting priorities may result in inconsistent reporting. Materiality should be centered on service recipients’ well-being.

• The scope of climate-related Public Policy Programmes could potentially allow selective reporting. Clearer thresholds are needed to avoid omitting significant negative impacts.

• Disclosures should be user-friendly, comparable, and support informed decision-making for all stakeholders, including citizens.

Read the full letter.