The Philippines has issued new sustainability reporting guidelines aligned with international standards, broadening the range of companies required to submit sustainability disclosures.
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The country’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has adopted the Philippine Financial Reporting Standards (PFRS) on Sustainability Disclosures, which corresponds with the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) under the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB).
ISSB, which develops global baseline standards for sustainability-related disclosures to meet investor needs, covers both general sustainability concerns (IFRS S1) and climate disclosures (IFRS S2).
Publicly-listed companies and large non-listed entities with a market capitalisation of more than P50 billion (US$845 million) will be required to apply the standards to fiscal years starting on or after 1 Jan 2026, said the SEC in a memorandum circular released in 23 December.
“The framework adopted under these guidelines enables companies and stakeholders to better understand the financial impacts of sustainability-related risks and opportunities, supporting long-term value creation and improved capital allocation decisions,” the memorandum said.
The new reporting standards will be implemented in phases starting fiscal year 2026 and are expected to standardise how Philippine firms report sustainability and climate-related risks and opportunities to investors and regulators.
Mandatory tiered rollout begins for large public companies in 2027, covering the 2026 fiscal year, followed by publicly listed companies with market capitalisation greater than P3 billion (US$845 million).
All other publicly listed companies, as well as large non-listed companies with annual revenues greater than P15 billion (US$250 million), will start reporting in 2029, covering the 2028 fiscal year.
The new rules mandate companies to obtain limited assurance on Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions from an independent assurance practitioner, starting two years after their initial reporting under these standards.
The Commission announced transitional reliefs, informed by public consultation feedback on the new standards. These include exemptions from Scope 3 emissions reporting for two years, limited climate-related risk and opportunity disclosures for Tier 1 and 2 companies in their first reporting year (and Tier 3 companies for two years), among other measures.
There are no other transitional reliefs because companies are allowed to use “reasonable and supportable information that is available to the entity at the reporting date without undue cost or effort”, said the circular.
By its adoption of ISSB’s standards, the Philippines joins Southeast Asian neighbours Singapore and Malaysia which are already aligned with IFRS rules.
Thailand, Vietnam, and Indonesia plan adoption or alignment, while Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar show early preparations but no full mandates yet. There are no confirmed full adoptions in Brunei, Laos or Timor-Leste as of this month.
