The International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) released its final set of proposed updates to the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) industry standards on 26 March.

The updates cover Agricultural Products; Meat, Poultry and Dairy; and, Electric Utilities and Power Generators. This final tranche of updates matters because these three sectors contain some of the most consequential ecological and supply‑chain risks in global portfolios.

Why Now

The draft amendments follow the same direction as last year’s proposals for the first nine sectors. The ISSB is tightening language, clarifying definitions and removing region‑specific assumptions to make SASB industry guidance easier to apply in global reporting. The intention is not to reposition the standards, but to reduce friction for preparers and improve comparability for investors using industry‑based metrics alongside ISSB disclosures.

The consultation also aims to ensure that climate‑related topics in SASB remain aligned with the ISSB’s industry guidance for IFRS S2. Maintaining that link matters most in these final sectors, where existing SASB metrics can diverge from current global practice, particularly in areas such as emissions measurement, land‑use impacts and generation mix.

What is Changing

The ISSB proposes extending the standard to include farming operations rather than only processors. New topics on food loss, food waste, land use and ecological impacts would give investors clearer visibility on how producers manage resource constraints and biodiversity exposure. For asset owners, the wider scope should reduce the current comparability gaps between vertically integrated and non‑integrated producers.

New disclosure topics replace the previous animal supply‑chain metrics, with a clearer focus on environmental and social risks across the protein value chain. A separate topic on product innovation highlights the increasing materiality of alternative proteins, methane‑reducing technologies and product reformulation. These areas are central to long‑term competitiveness and emissions pathways.

The draft adds ecological impacts, community relations and Indigenous rights, workforce development and retention, and supply‑chain management. These sit alongside refinements to existing metrics. Together they reflect the operational realities of the energy transition, where labour availability, community consent and land intensity influence execution risk.

Implications for investors

Stronger alignment with IFRS terminology and clearer preparer expectations should improve like‑for‑like reporting across major markets. For investors, this will support more consistent stewardship evidence and reduce the variability that often constrains sector benchmarking.

Across all three sectors, the new topics target areas where existing disclosures remain patchy, namely land impacts, supply‑chain oversight and operational resilience. These are inputs into risk pricing, controversies assessment and engagement theme selection.

Product innovation in food sectors and expanded workforce metrics in utilities introduce signals that may influence long‑term performance rather than only current‑period risks. These are increasingly relevant to transition planning and capital allocation.

What happens next

The proposed updates are open for consultation until 24 July. Final amendments are expected to apply from the 2027 reporting cycle. For investors, the consultation period is the opportunity to test whether the proposals support decision‑useful data across the three sectors and whether remaining gaps could impede comparability or stewardship outcomes.

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