Brazil Securities Commission makes CBPS and ISSB sustainability reporting fully voluntary for listed companies and sets three year minimum for adopters

The Brazil Securities Commission has issued Resolution CVM 244 amending Resolution CVM 193 to make adoption of the CBPS and ISSB sustainability reporting standards fully voluntary for listed companies, removing the previous requirement that reporting would become mandatory after a voluntary adoption period. Companies that choose to publish sustainability-related financial information must still use the CBPS and ISSB standards, while companies that decide not to adopt them must disclose that choice to the market under a comply or explain approach. The amendments also remove the rule under which voluntary reporting in a single fiscal year created a permanent reporting obligation for any entity. Voluntary adopters must now report for at least three consecutive fiscal years, and any decision to stop reporting must be communicated in the fiscal year before the interruption. The revised framework brings listed companies closer to the treatment already applied to investment funds and securitization companies, which were not subject to forced adoption of reporting under these standards.