Sustainable Accounting Standards Board (SASB)

What Sustainable Accounting Standards Board (SASB) does

The Sustainable Accounting Standards Board (SASB) develops industry-based sustainability disclosure standards that identify the subset of sustainability issues most relevant to investor decision-making across 77 industries, organized under the Sustainable Industry Classification System (SICS). Founded in 2011 as an independent standards-setting organization, SASB consolidated into the IFRS Foundation in August 2022 alongside the Value Reporting Foundation, placing its standards under the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB). Its core products include the SASB Standards themselves, the SASB Standards Navigator online platform, the Materiality Finder portfolio-analysis tool, and the SASB Standards Taxonomy for machine-readable digital reporting. SASB Standards are also embedded into IFRS S1 (general sustainability-related disclosures) and IFRS S2 (climate-related disclosures), forming the industry-specific metrics layer of the global sustainability disclosure baseline.

The business model is hybrid: SASB Standards are provided free for non-commercial use (investor disclosure, academic research) via the SASB Standards Navigator, while commercial uses — such as integration into investment strategies, reporting software, and data platforms — are monetized through the IFRS Foundation's fee-based IFRS Sustainability Licensing program. Distribution is global, with standards in active use by 3,200+ companies across 80+ jurisdictions and adopted by 75% of the S&P Global 1200 Index. The IFRS Sustainability Alliance (formed from the merger of the SASB Alliance and the IR Business Network), the FSA professional credential, and the ISSB Training Partner Programme extend commercial reach beyond standards adoption into education, professional certification, and community engagement. As a not-for-profit entity, SASB does not disclose revenue, and its primary value-creation model is standard-setting influence rather than direct monetization.

Name

Sustainable Accounting Standards Board (SASB)

Legal name

International Financial Reporting Standards Foundation

Website

https://sasb.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

SASB develops industry-based sustainability disclosure standards for 77 industries, now maintained by the IFRS Foundation's ISSB. Its frameworks are used by 3,200+ companies in 80+ jurisdictions and embedded in IFRS S1 and S2.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sustainability Disclosure Standards

akta.pro primary industry

Sustainability & ESG Reporting (GRI/SASB/ISSB/CSRD) (EUAHAJAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Standards Development & Publishing (SDOs, Technical Standards) (MPAJACAB), Nature & Biodiversity Reporting (TNFD, natural capital) (EUAHAJAM)

Keywords

• Sustainability disclosure standards
• Industry-based accounting
• Financial reporting frameworks
• Corporate sustainability reporting
• ESG materiality standards

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Standards Licensing (Commercial): Fee-based programs for commercial uses of the Standards, such as integrating them into investment strategies or reporting software. These programs help ensure that the businesses that benefit from the Standards help facilitate their maintenance.
2. Non-commercial Access: All 77 industry-based SASB Standards are available to download free of charge for non-commercial use, such as disclosure to investors or for use in academic research.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

SASB develops and maintains 77 industry-based sustainability disclosure standards that identify the sustainability-related issues most relevant to investor decision-making in each industry. The standards enable public companies to identify, measure, and communicate sustainability-related risks and opportunities affecting cash flows, access to finance, and cost of capital. Standards are freely accessible for non-commercial use via the SASB Standards Navigator and offered under fee-based licensing for commercial integration.

Product overview

The Sustainable Accounting Standards Board (SASB), now operating under the IFRS Foundation's International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB), offers a suite of 77 industry-based sustainability disclosure standards accessible via the SASB Standards Navigator platform. The core product portfolio includes SASB Standards for identifying material sustainability risks across industries, supported by IFRS S1 and S2 Climate-related Disclosures as the global baseline framework. Related offerings include the FSA Credential for professional education, the IFRS Sustainability Alliance membership program, and the ISSB Training Partner Programme. Additional tools include the Materiality Finder for portfolio risk visualization and the SASB Standards Taxonomy for digital reporting. The portfolio connects to IFRS Digital subscriptions and licensing programs for commercial integration.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• FSA Credential: Fundamentals of Sustainability Accounting Credential - an educational credential for professionals understanding the link between material sustainability information and company financial performance.
• SICS
• SASB Alliance

Quantifiable outcome

• Used by 3,200+ companies in 80+ jurisdictions
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.

• International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe ISSB is responsible for the SASB Standards following the consolidation of the Value Reporting Foundation into the IFRS Foundation in August 2022. A group of ISSB members is tasked with developing recommendations for the maintenance, evolution and enhancement of the SASB Standards.
• IFRS Sustainability AllianceflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerFormed from the merger of the SASB Alliance and the Business Network. A global community for sustainability standards and integrated reporting. Members share a belief in the benefits of a coherent and comprehensive system for corporate disclosure.
• TCFD (Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSASB Standards and the TCFD Recommendations form the foundation for IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards. IFRS S2 Climate-related Disclosures is based on TCFD Recommendations with industry-specific climate metrics based on SASB Standards.
• CDSB (Climate Disclosure Standards Board)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCDSB guidance and framework is part of the IFRS Foundation's sustainability resources. The Value Reporting Foundation (which included CDSB) consolidated into the IFRS Foundation.
• ISSB Training PartnerscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorOrganizations authorized to deliver ISSB Training Partner Programme, providing education on sustainability disclosure standards.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• TCFD (Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures): TCFD provided climate-related financial disclosure recommendations now embedded in IFRS S2 and historically complementary to SASB's climate-related industry metrics. The FSB has sunset TCFD's monitoring role, but its recommendations remain foundational and directly comparable to SASB's industry-based climate metrics.
• CDP (Carbon Disclosure Project): CDP operates the world's largest environmental disclosure platform used by investors and companies for climate, water and forest data. It is a direct peer in the sustainability disclosure ecosystem, historically complementary to SASB but increasingly competitive as it expands into broader corporate disclosure.
• Global Reporting Initiative (GRI): GRI is the most direct peer, providing globally used sustainability reporting standards focused on a broad multi-stakeholder audience. It competes with SASB's investor-focused materiality approach and remains a parallel framework in many corporate reporting regimes.

Regional players

• EFRAG (European Financial Reporting Advisory Group): EFRAG develops the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) used under the EU's CSRD. It is a regional peer focused on European mandatory sustainability disclosure, operating in parallel to ISSB/IFRS Sustainability Standards and creating interoperability challenges with SASB.

Others

• FASB (Financial Accounting Standards Board): FASB sets US GAAP accounting standards and is a sister standards-setter to the IASB. It is thematically comparable as a standards development organization in the financial reporting ecosystem, and is beginning to engage on climate and sustainability disclosures alongside SASB/ISSB.

Emerging players

• WEF Stakeholder Capitalism Metrics: The World Economic Forum's Stakeholder Capitalism Metrics provide a non-statutory, ESG-aligned disclosure framework referenced by major companies. It is an emerging peer that overlaps with SASB's purpose of standardizing corporate ESG disclosure but lacks the regulatory backing of ISSB standards.
• TNFD (Task Force on Nature-related Financial Disclosures): TNFD develops disclosure recommendations for nature-related risks, analogous to TCFD for climate. It is an emerging peer addressing a thematic adjacency to SASB's sustainability disclosure scope, with growing relevance as nature and biodiversity reporting expands.

Broad incumbents

• International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB): The ISSB is the IFRS Foundation body now responsible for maintaining and enhancing the SASB Standards. As the parent standard-setter, it is a broad incumbent that determines the trajectory of SASB content while also issuing the IFRS S1 and S2 standards that supersede SASB at the framework level.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/sasb
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/IFRSFoundation
• Facebookfacebook.com/thesasb
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/2464787

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Sustainable Accounting Standards Board (SASB)