Towards transparency and sustainable development: International sustainability standards and their impact on Chile.

Abstract

Our society increasingly demands a greater quantity and quality of information about the operations of organizations and the impacts they generate in the environment to which they belong, which in turn can impact sustainable development. The disclosure of this type of information is crucial, thus making specific standards and regulations in this regard essential. Therefore, the objective of this work is to formulate the main challenges and opportunities that public offering issuers of securities in Chile will face, given the recent publication of international sustainability disclosure standards issued by the International Sustainability Standards Board. To achieve this, the current regulatory framework in Chile, related to the disclosure of financial information related to sustainability for these organizations was analyzed. This lead to the conclusion that Chile, through the current requirements established by the Financial Market Commission, is at the forefront in terms of transparency and disclosure in sustainability-related matters, creating the opportunity to transform general-purpose financial statements into a tool for sustainable development. Nonetheless, we believe that efforts should be made to ensure that the disclosure of this type of information does not become mere reporting aimed at satisfying regulatory entities regarding compliance with their normative requirements, but rather serves the interests of organizational stakeholders and stems from a genuine commitment to contribute to the sustainable development of our planet.