# What does IFRS S1 cover that IFRS S2 does not?

Canonical: https://senseible.earth/answers/ifrs-s1-vs-ifrs-s2-difference

IFRS S1 covers every sustainability risk and opportunity that could affect a company's prospects, such as water, labour or supply chains, and sets the general rules for any sustainability report. IFRS S2 covers climate only. S2 adds the climate specifics: emissions by scope, scenario analysis, transition plans and climate metrics.

## What only IFRS S1 does

- Requires disclosure on all sustainability-related risks and opportunities that could reasonably be expected to affect cash flows, access to finance or cost of capital, not just climate.
- Tells you how to find those topics: consider the SASB Standards, and you may also look at CDSB guidance, the GRI Standards or ESRS.
- Sets the core content for any topic: governance, strategy, risk management, and metrics and targets.

## The general rules in S1 that S2 relies on

IFRS S2 does not repeat these, so a climate-only report still has to follow them through S1.

- Same reporting entity as the financial statements, and the same reporting period.
- Publish at the same time as the financial statements.
- Connected information: explain links between sustainability data and the financial statements.
- Materiality judged by what could influence investors' decisions.
- Comparative figures, a statement of compliance, and how to handle estimates, judgements and errors.

## What only IFRS S2 does

- Scope 1, 2 and 3 greenhouse gas emissions, measured under the GHG Protocol Corporate Standard.
- Climate resilience assessed with scenario analysis.
- Climate transition plans and climate targets.
- Cross-industry climate metrics, such as assets exposed to transition and physical risk, internal carbon prices and climate-linked pay.
- Industry-based climate metrics, with guidance drawn from SASB.

## The climate-first relief

In the first annual reporting period, IFRS S1 Appendix E (paragraph E5) lets a company report only on climate, applying S2, and leave other sustainability topics for later. In the second year the full S1 scope applies, though comparative figures for the non-climate topics are not required that year. So a company using the relief should know by the end of year one which non-climate topics are material.

## What Senseible does here

Senseible drafts IFRS S1 and S2 outputs from your uploaded data, as self-declared drafts: the metrics part, built from document-backed Scope 1 and 2 figures from your invoices and bills. Governance, strategy and risk management narratives are written by your company.

- [IFRS S2 vs TCFD](https://senseible.earth/answers/ifrs-s2-vs-tcfd-difference)
- [Does IFRS S2 apply in India?](https://senseible.earth/answers/does-ifrs-s2-apply-in-india)
- [IFRS S2 cross-industry metrics](https://senseible.earth/answers/ifrs-s2-cross-industry-metrics-list)

Sources: [IFRS S1 General Requirements for Disclosure of Sustainability-related Financial Information, ISSB, June 2023 (ifrs.org)](https://www.ifrs.org), [IFRS S2 Climate-related Disclosures, ISSB, June 2023 (ifrs.org)](https://www.ifrs.org)

Last reviewed 2026-10-16.