The Leibniz Institute for Financial Research SAFE and the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding to strengthen their existing cooperation. Under the leadership of the House of Finance at Goethe University Frankfurt, the agreement outlines a strategic framework for joint initiatives aimed at advancing sustainability reporting standards and promoting academic engagement.
“With SAFE’s engagement as an academic partner in this important endeavor with Goethe University and ISSB, we are poised to drive impactful research in financial sustainability and help shape the future landscape of sustainability reporting”, says Florian Heider, Scientific Director at SAFE.
Focus on interdisciplinary cooperation
With a focus on interdisciplinary cooperation, the House of Finance, the Sustainability & Biodiversity profile area, and the Departments of Economics and Biosciences at Goethe University will also contribute to the development of universally applicable ISSB standards.
Through annual conferences hosted at Goethe University’s Westend Campus, the collaboration extends its reach to non-academic stakeholders, including policymakers, regulators, practitioners, and media representatives, and promotes dialogue on research-based sustainable standards. To this end, the Sustainability Standards Conference 2024 will take place on June 10.
The collaboration between SAFE, Goethe University and the ISSB represents a concerted effort to advance sustainable finance on a global scale and sets a precedent for future interdisciplinary collaborations. As part of the UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, the Board of Trustees of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) Foundation announced the establishment of the ISSB, which began its work in Frankfurt in 2022.
