The objective of these Disclosure Principles is to pave the way and help prepare relevant entities in the UAE to achieve high-quality and relevant ESG disclosures.
The SFWG members recognise the existence and widespread use of numerous reporting initiatives and frameworks, which have developed over time around the globe and are being currently used in the UAE. Some of these are industry-based, regionally or globally recognized frameworks and standards, operating on a voluntary basis, including those issued by the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB), the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC), the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), the Climate Disclosure Standards Board (CDSB) and the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB). The SFWG members acknowledge that these frameworks may have different objectives and provide varying perspectives on ESG-related matters.
The SFWG members also recognise that there exists an international movement towards greater uniformity, such as the issuance of the ISSB disclosure standards and the ongoing development of Pillar 3 disclosure requirements for banks by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, which may pave the way for a global baseline framework in the future that complements and works alongside other general disclosure frameworks.