Climate and nature risks increasingly shape financial markets, corporate strategy, and economic stability, as participants agreed at the Sustainability Standards Conference 2026 on 18 May at Goethe University Frankfurt. At this year’s conference, regulators, academics, and participants from the financial sector discussed the future of sustainability reporting amid growing geopolitical and regulatory tensions.
The conference was organized jointly by the House of Finance, Goethe University, the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB), the German Accounting Standards Committee (DRSC), the Deutsche Börse Group and the Leibniz Institute for Financial Research SAFE.
From financial risk to corporate responsibility
Among the participants were ISSB Chair Emmanuel Faber and Vice Chair Sue Lloyd, Sven Gentner of the European Commission, and Kerstin Lopatta of the EFRAG Sustainability Reporting Board. As members from the Accounting & Sustainability Reporting department at Goethe University, Matthias Breuer and Katharina Hombach participated in the Research Session alongside Florian Heeb (SAFE) and Gaizka Ormazabal (IESE). Representatives from BlackRock, Allianz Global Investors, BASF, Deloitte and ISS ESG contributed the industry perspective.
The conference also touched on growing political resistance to Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives, particularly in the United States, which is creating additional uncertainty for internationally active firms and investors. In the opening Fireside Chat, Petra Hielkema, chair of the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority, emphasized: “Whether things are politically en vogue or not, doesn’t matter. It has to be done.”
Discussing the impact of climate and nature Frank Elderson, Vice Chair of the Supervisory Board & Member of the Executive Board, European Central Bank, added: “Financial actors need to manage these risks, which are highly relevant.“ They stressed that physical climate impacts, rising insurance losses, and supply chain disruptions are already affecting economic performance and investment decisions. Sustainability risks, it was argued, must therefore be integrated into risk management and investment decisions regardless of political cycles.
Frameworks, standards, and disclosure improve transparency and comparability, but they do not automatically lead to real-world decarbonization. Several speakers emphasized that regulation must be more closely linked to incentives, effective enforcement, and strategic integration into corporate decision-making in order to drive change.
The simplification of sustainability regulations, particularly in the context of the European Commission’s Omnibus, formed an important backdrop to many sessions. While participants broadly supported reducing unnecessary burdens, many also cautioned against weakening the substance of existing sustainability regulations. Data quality, comparability, and effective risk management were repeatedly described as essential foundations that should be preserved.
Globally compatible sustainability reporting
Another focus was the growing importance of interoperability between reporting frameworks, particularly between European Sustainability Reporting Standards and the ISSB’s global sustainability reporting framework. In an increasingly fragmented geopolitical environment, participants stressed the need for globally compatible reporting systems that reduce duplication while maintaining transparency and quality.
For a full overview of topics and participants, see the program.
