IFRS S2 / HKFRS S2 / ISSB
IFRS S2 — Climate-related Disclosures — is the international standard issued by the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) in June 2023. It sets out what listed companies and large organisations must disclose about climate-related risks and their greenhouse gas emissions. Hong Kong has adopted it as HKFRS S2, effective for financial years beginning on or after 1 January 2025 for large listed issuers.
The four TCFD pillars
IFRS S2 is structured around the four pillars of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD): Governance (how the board oversees climate risk), Strategy (how climate risk affects the business), Risk Management (how climate risks are identified and managed), and Metrics and Targets (what is measured, including GHG emissions). GHGify handles the Metrics pillar directly and structures data for the others.
GHG emissions disclosure requirements
IFRS S2 requires disclosure of absolute Scope 1, Scope 2 (both location-based and market-based), and material Scope 3 emissions, expressed in metric tonnes of CO₂ equivalent. It also requires emission intensity metrics and cross-referencing to transition plans. All of this is calculable and exportable within GHGify.
HKFRS S2 for Hong Kong issuers
The Hong Kong Financial Reporting Standards (HKFRS) adopted IFRS S2 as HKFRS S2 with a phased timeline: large listed issuers from FY2025, other listed issuers from FY2026. The requirements are substantively identical to IFRS S2. GHGify supports both the IFRS and HKFRS variants — if you are a Hong Kong-listed company, your GHGify report will satisfy both.
Relationship with the GHG Protocol and ISO 14064-1
IFRS S2 explicitly requires the use of the GHG Protocol Corporate Standard for measuring and disclosing emissions. This means a GHGify report — which is built on the GHG Protocol and compatible with ISO 14064-1 — provides the quantitative foundation that IFRS S2 requires. The qualitative narrative disclosures (governance, strategy, risk management) are prepared separately, typically as part of the annual report or integrated report.
Who needs to comply
IFRS S2 or its local equivalent is now mandatory or in the process of becoming mandatory in over 20 jurisdictions, including the United Kingdom, European Union (via CSRD), Australia, Singapore (via SGX rules), and Hong Kong. Even where it is not yet mandatory, it is increasingly expected by banks, insurers, investors, and supply chain partners.