SD-M published the first global SD-KPI Standards for financially material ESG KPIs in 2010 and 2016 on behalf of the German Federal Government. The standards define three financially material ESG KPIs for each of 68 industries. In 2016, they were supported by the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB), whose Technical Director wrote: “SASB found a high degree of overlap in SD-KPI analysis and the SASB standards.” The SASB Standards are now maintained by the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) and support the application of IFRS S1, which has become a global reference point for financially material sustainability information. The high degree of overlap with the SASB Standards underlines the continued relevance of the SD-KPI methodology in today’s IFRS S1 context.
Germany’s Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) listed the SD-KPI Standard 2016–2021 in its guidance notice on dealing with sustainability risks as an example of an external sustainability standard for the strategic orientation and risk management of supervised banks, insurance companies and asset management companies.
