The International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) has issued its first standards to provide a “common language” for companies worldwide to report on their social and environmental performance. 

The much-anticipated standards will require companies to disclose reliable and comparable sustainability-related information alongside their financial accounts to help inform investor decisions. The two first standards issued on Monday, referred to as S1 and S2, outline general sustainability and climate-related disclosures, respectively.

“For the first time, the standards create a common language for disclosing the effect of climate-related risks and opportunities on a company’s prospects,” the ISSB said in a statement.

They are intended to be a “global baseline” – it will be up to individual jurisdictions and companies to adopt and implement them.