HKICPA welcomes the Government’s Roadmap on Sustainability Disclosure in Hong Kong

The Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants (HKICPA) welcomes the Government’s Roadmap on Sustainability Disclosure in Hong Kong (Roadmap) that sets out Hong Kong’s approach and timeline for adopting the IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards (ISSB Standards) and which elaborates on Hong Kong’s blueprint for a comprehensive sustainability disclosure ecosystem. As the sustainability reporting standard setter of Hong Kong, the HKICPA will publish the HKFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards (HKFRS SDS*) on a full alignment basis with the ISSB Standards by the end of this year as outlined in the Roadmap.

HKICPA President Edward Au said, “The Roadmap provides a well-defined pathway for Hong Kong to align with international sustainability disclosure standards and sheds light on the direction of future development, thus allowing for corporates to better fulfill their responsibilities on sustainability reporting. The HKICPA will continue to proactively implement the strategy in the Roadmap by publishing the HKFRS SDS and continuing to deliver capacity building activities. All this aims to facilitate the development of a comprehensive local sustainability disclosure ecosystem and to solidify Hong Kong’s status as a green finance centre.” 

In June 2023, the International Sustainability Standards Board published its first set of ISSB Standards as the global baseline. In March this year, the Government announced the Vision Statement that outlines the development of a comprehensive ecosystem for sustainability disclosure in Hong Kong and confirms the role of the HKICPA as the local sustainability reporting standard setter.

The HKICPA has been actively working on the development of the HKFRS SDS since the public consultation of the draft ISSB Standards in early 2022. Over the past few years, the HKICPA has conducted extensive engagement with over 150 entities to gather views on the application of the ISSB Standards in Hong Kong which included a technical feasibility study of the standards from March to June 2024 and the public consultation of the draft HKFRS SDS in September to October 2024. After a holistic assessment of relevant factors, the HKICPA reached the decision to develop the HKFRS SDS on a full alignment basis with the ISSB Standards. The HKICPA aims to publish the final HKFRS S1 General Requirements for Disclosure of Sustainability-related Financial Information and HKFRS S2 Climate-related Disclosures before the end of this year. As outlined in the Roadmap, Hong Kong will prioritize the application of HKFRS SDS by large publicly accountable entities under a phased approach with reference to the Inaugural Jurisdictional Guide published by the IFRS Foundation.

The HKICPA will be guided by the Roadmap and will continue to work closely with other stakeholders in the areas of sustainability assurance, data and technology as well as skills and competencies to create an enabling environment for the successful implementation of the HKFRS SDS and to contribute towards the development of a comprehensive sustainability disclosure ecosystem in Hong Kong.

* “HKFRS SDS” is equivalent to “Hong Kong Standards” in the Government’s Roadmap.

Photo 1: The HKICPA welcomes the Government’s Roadmap on Sustainability Disclosure in Hong Kong and to publish the HKFRS SDS on a full alignment basis with the ISSB Standards by the end of this year as outlined in the Roadmap.

Photo 2: HKICPA President Edward Au said the Roadmap provides a well-defined pathway for Hong Kong to align with international sustainability disclosure standards. The HKICPA will proactively implement the strategy in the Roadmap to solidify Hong Kong’s status as a green finance centre.