Monthly Sustainability Standards/Framework Round up - Nov, 20, 2025

Here's a quick rundown of what's going on with sustainability standards and regulations around the globe as of November 20, 2025.

Big Shifts in Global Rules

A lot of places are now making climate and sustainability reporting a must-do, and they're mostly trying to line up with the ISSB (International Sustainability Standards Board) and IFRS S2 frameworks.

Over in the U.S., the big federal SEC climate disclosure rule is still on hold. But that��s not stopping states like California, which is pushing ahead with its own laws. Starting in 2026, they'll require companies to report on Scope 1, 2, and eventually 3 GHG emissions and climate risks.

Australia and Hong Kong are also on board with ISSB-style rules, which kick in for them in 2026. Mexico is moving even faster—they’re making big companies report on sustainability and GHG based on ISSB standards starting in 2025.

And don't forget the EU. They're still overhauling their rules with the Omnibus I package. The idea is to make things a bit easier for companies by streamlining the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), but without losing the punch of effective sustainability reporting.

What Lawmakers Decided Recently

Just the other day, on November 13, 2025, the European Parliament actually voted to ease up on some of the rules. For instance, they got rid of the maximum penalty and the requirement for large companies to have a Paris Agreement transition plan under the CSDDD.

Right now, the European Parliament and Council are still hashing out the final details of these changes and are hoping to get it all sorted by the end of 2025.

Meanwhile, the UK has officially locked in its rules for ESG ratings providers. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is now in charge of keeping an eye on them, which brings the UK in line with the global standards IOSCO put out back in 2021.

New Standards and Getting Feedback

EFRAG is asking for public feedback on its updated ESRS drafts until November 30, 2025. They're basically trying to make the whole "double-materiality" concept simpler, cut down on complexity, and give companies reporting under CSRD a bit of a break.

The ISSB also just decided to bring the TNFD (Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures) framework into the fold. This should help companies do a better job of reporting on nature-related risks, and it builds right on top of what IFRS S1 already requires.

Plus, the EU has given the green light to new digital tools and higher reporting thresholds, which should really help out the smaller businesses.

What's Happening in the Industry

On the industry side, the Sweep platform got its GRI license, which is pretty cool because it lets organizations automate their reporting across all the major sustainability frameworks.

Deutsche Bank just rolled out its first-ever Transition Finance Framework and has also set some fresh targets for sustainable finance that run through 2030.

And at COP30 in Brazil, the big talk was all about global teamwork between financial institutions and central banks to handle climate risk. This fits in nicely with what the EU is trying to do with simplifying its own regulations.

Everyone Wants to Get on the Same Page

Pretty much everyone—from regulators to regular companies—is saying we need to harmonize all this stuff. There's a big push to combine and simplify all the different reporting methods out there so that the information is consistent, comparable, and actually reliable.

The main goal is still to land on sustainability standards that everyone can agree on—standards that boost transparency without totally overwhelming companies with paperwork.

So yeah, this is just a quick look at how things are changing. It’s pretty clear that the whole world is moving toward sustainability reporting rules that are more complete, easier to manage, and all work together.