Singapore climate reporting rules: ISSB timetable and who must report

Singapore's climate-reporting rules do not give every company the same start date. All listed companies began reporting Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions from financial year 2025, but the wider International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB)-based requirements now arrive in stages through 2030.

Straits Times Index (STI) constituents moved first. They began the wider climate disclosures in FY2025 and Scope 3 emissions in FY2026. Other listed companies have longer, with their dates determined by market capitalisation. Large non-listed companies now start in FY2030 rather than FY2027.

That last date is easy to get wrong. Singapore extended most of the original timetable in August 2025, so older summaries can still show deadlines that no longer apply. The current rules separate emissions reporting, wider climate disclosure, Scope 3 and assurance instead of moving them all together.

Singapore's climate reporting timetable

These are financial years beginning on or after 1 January of the stated year. A company with a different year-end must map the rule to its own first financial year beginning on or after that date. The ESG reporting deadline tracker keeps the reporting period separate from the later publication or filing date.

Listed companies are divided into three fixed tiers

The listed-company timetable depends on status at a specified date, not on a fresh classification every year. A company that was an STI constituent on 30 June 2025 remains in the first tier for these requirements even if it later leaves the index.

The second tier covers non-STI companies with a market capitalisation of at least S$1 billion at the close of market on 30 June 2025. Once captured, a later fall below S$1 billion does not move the company into the 2030 tier.

A company listed after 30 June 2025 uses its market capitalisation on the listing date. If that value is at least S$1 billion, the first wider climate report is due for the later of FY2028 or its first full financial year after listing. Other listed companies enter the wider disclosure timetable in FY2030.

Every listed company still has the FY2025 duty for Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions. A smaller listed issuer waiting until 2030 for the rest of the climate framework is not waiting until 2030 to report any climate information.

ISSB-based does not mean every sustainability topic is mandatory

Singapore is taking a climate-first approach. The wider disclosures cover governance, strategy, risk management, metrics and targets for climate-related risks and opportunities. Listed companies apply International Financial Reporting Standard S2 (IFRS S2), Climate-related Disclosures, alongside the climate-relevant provisions of International Financial Reporting Standard S1 (IFRS S1), General Requirements for Disclosure of Sustainability-related Financial Information.

IFRS S1 contains foundations that IFRS S2 relies on, including materiality, reporting boundaries, connected information, judgements and uncertainty. Applying those climate-relevant provisions is different from requiring a full report on every sustainability-related risk and opportunity covered by IFRS S1.

The Singapore Exchange (SGX) does not require an issuer to make an explicit statement that it complies with the full IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards. A company may make such a statement only if it has met all the relevant requirements. TPB's guide to ISSB, IFRS S1 and IFRS S2 explains the international standards behind the local rules.

Scope 3 is mandatory for one listed-company cohort

STI constituents must report Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions from FY2026. The rule remains attached to companies that were STI constituents on 30 June 2025 even if their index status subsequently changes.

For every other listed company, Scope 3 reporting remains voluntary until further notice. The same applies to large non-listed companies. That does not remove value-chain emissions from wider business demands: parent-company reporting, customer questionnaires, financing conditions and voluntary targets may still require the data.

STI constituents have transition relief in the first year of applying the requirement, including relief over comparative information and certain measurement practices. The underlying evidence still needs a retained boundary, category assessment, data hierarchy, emission factors, estimates and review record. The Scope 3 supplier data guide covers that collection process.

Large non-listed companies enter in FY2030

A large non-listed company is in scope if it meets both thresholds: annual revenue of at least S$1 billion and total assets of at least S$500 million. Unless exempted, it must report ISSB-based climate disclosures, including Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions, from FY2030.

An exemption may apply where an immediate, intermediate or ultimate parent prepares an ISSB-based local report or an equivalent report, the Singapore company's activities are included, and the parent's report is publicly available. ACRA has said it will issue guidance on equivalent standards as international rules evolve.

The exemption therefore turns on the content and availability of the parent report, not simply on group membership. A Singapore subsidiary relying on it should retain the group boundary, the report location and the evidence that its activities are covered.

Assurance follows on a separate timetable

External limited assurance over Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions begins in FY2029 for listed companies and FY2032 for large non-listed companies. The permitted providers are registered audit firms or testing, inspection and certification firms accredited by the Singapore Accreditation Council.

The assurance date is later than the first emissions report, but the underlying records begin earlier. Organisational boundaries, calculation methods, source files, adjustments and review evidence from the first reporting years will shape the assurance trail. The guide to limited and reasonable assurance explains what the engagement levels do and do not provide.

What reporting teams should confirm now

Listed companies should first preserve the evidence behind their tier. For the first two tiers, that means the relevant 30 June 2025 index or market-cap position. Later listings need the listing date, first full financial year and market capitalisation recorded together.

The reporting map should then separate Scope 1 and 2 from the wider climate disclosures. Combining them into one future deadline can hide an emissions duty that has already begun. STI constituents also need a distinct Scope 3 workstream for FY2026.

Large non-listed companies should test both size thresholds and then assess whether a parent-report exemption is genuinely available. If it is, the company needs evidence that the parent's report uses an accepted basis, includes its activities and remains available to the public.

Finally, each disclosure needs a named owner and a traceable source. Singapore's phased dates give some companies longer to prepare, but they do not change the work required to connect emissions, risks, scenarios, targets and financial information. The sustainability reporting controls guide sets out how to build that record without creating a reporting process detached from finance.

The current timetable is more differentiated than Singapore's original roadmap. FY2025 remains the starting point for listed-company emissions and STI climate reporting; FY2028 and FY2030 now carry the wider requirements for other cohorts. The correct answer begins with the company tier, not with a general claim that Singapore adopted ISSB reporting.

Sources

• Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA): sustainability reporting and assurance requirements
• ACRA and Singapore Exchange Regulation (SGX RegCo): extended climate reporting timelines, August 2025
• SGX Rulebook: Practice Note 7F Sustainability Reporting Guide
• ACRA: Climate Reporting and Assurance Roadmap in Singapore
• Feature image: Singapore Central Business District skyline by DvTor8303, CC0