Tomoo Machiba, Director of Zeroboard Research Institute, Appointed as First Asian Vice-Chair of GSSB, the Deliberative Body for GRI Standards for Sustainability Disclosure

Zeroboard Inc. (Minato-ku, Tokyo, Representative Director: Michitaka Tokeiji, hereinafter referred to as 'Our Company'), which supports corporate sustainability management, announces that Tomoo Machiba, Director of its affiliated think tank, Zeroboard Research Institute, has been appointed Vice-Chair of the Global Sustainability Standards Board (GSSB), the independent deliberative body of GRI (Global Reporting Initiative). This appointment as Vice-Chair is the first for an Asian, effective April 1, 2026, with a term of three years.

Machiba has served as a GSSB board member since January 2024 and will continue to contribute to the board's operations and the development of GRI Standards while fulfilling his role as a board member.

GSSB's Role and Trends in Disclosure
The GSSB is responsible for developing the GRI Standards, the world's most widely used voluntary international disclosure standards, based on established procedures, on par with the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) for International Sustainability Disclosure Standards (IFRS S). The Vice-Chair will assist Chairperson Suzanne Størmer, who also took office on April 1, and will play a role in supporting deliberations and consensus-building, taking into account the perspectives and expertise of diverse stakeholders.

Sustainability disclosure involves the coexistence of financial risk and opportunity disclosures related to sustainability issues for investors (IFRS S, SSBJ, etc.) and stakeholder-oriented information disclosure focused on corporate social and environmental impact (GRI, etc.), leading to an increasing demand for companies to address 'double materiality.' The GRI Standards are evolving while considering digitalization and AI advancements and enhancing interoperability with global financial disclosure frameworks. They are becoming increasingly important as a common global corporate disclosure indicator base, connecting with legislated European sustainability reporting (CSRD/ESRS) and other frameworks.

Our Company's View and Machiba's Comment
Machiba's role as Vice-Chair is an international role as an individual based on GRI's governance. Discussions on standard-setting within the GSSB proceed under established procedures, with independence and transparency as prerequisites. On the other hand, our company believes there is significance in the insights gained from close proximity to international rule-making trends, which can enhance the accuracy of recommendations and support in Zeroboard Research Institute's research and in supporting client companies' sustainability management.

In addition to providing cloud services aligned with trends and regulations, our company will support corporate practical operations through organizing domestic and international trends and regulations, sharing the latest information, and providing consulting support for sustainability management. To meet the disclosure and data management needs that span IFRS S, SSBJ, GRI, CSRD (ESRS), CDP, SBTi, and others, we will proceed with building and expanding our platform from a 'double materiality' perspective, contributing to the creation of a high-quality information infrastructure under diverse frameworks.

Upon his appointment, Machiba stated:
'The value of the GRI Standards lies in their ability to demonstrate a comprehensive framework for impact-based disclosure while evolving for the digital and AI era. The GSSB will strive for the further development of the Standards and their contribution to corporate management by promoting their combined use with global financial disclosure frameworks, while clarifying the relationship between impact and risks/opportunities. Enhanced interoperability will form the foundation for organizations to provide high-quality data that contributes to trust and supports sustainable decision-making worldwide. I am deeply honored to take on this role as Vice-Chair at such a crucial time.'

Introduction of Tomoo Machiba
After working as a journalist for the Asahi Shimbun, he has been involved internationally in supporting corporate and government responses to sustainability strategies. He was involved in guideline revisions at the GRI International Secretariat, led research on eco-innovation policy at the OECD Directorate for Science, Technology and Industry. At the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), he was responsible for knowledge management of renewable energy technology data worldwide, and with the UAE Federal Government, he formulated strategies and policies for green economy and climate change response. As Deputy Director of the UN Climate Technology Centre and Network (CTCN), he supported technology transfer to developing countries and returned to Japan in 2021. He served as a Partner for Decarbonization and ESG at the foreign consulting firm ERM, and became Director of Zeroboard Research Institute in August 2023. He has served as a GSSB board member since January 2024 and as GSSB Vice-Chair since April 1, 2026 (term of office in both cases as determined by GRI). Since March 2025, he has been a member of the GHG Protocol Corporate Standard Technical Working Group (TWG). He graduated from the Department of Journalism, Faculty of Letters, Sophia University, and holds a Master's degree from the Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, UK.

Reference Links
GSSB Member Introduction
https://globalreporting.org/standards/global-sustainability-standards-board/gssb-members/

(※1) GRI Standards: Standards reflecting international best practices for providing information to a wide range of stakeholders regarding the various positive and negative impacts an organization has on the economy, environment, and society. The first edition of the guidelines was published in 2000. It has since evolved and was standardized in 2016 (from the GRI website). According to KPMG's 2024 survey, 77% of the world's top 250 companies (96% of companies making sustainability disclosures) and 71% of the top 100 companies in 58 countries (79% of those) refer to the GRI Standards (KPMG, Survey of Sustainability Reporting 2024).
https://www.globalreporting.org/how-to-use-the-gri-standards/gri-standards-japanese-translations/

(※2) ISSB and SSBJ
ISSB (International Sustainability Standards Board): An organization established under the IFRS Foundation to develop international standards for corporate sustainability information disclosure.
SSBJ (Sustainability Standards Board of Japan): A domestic organization established under the Financial Accounting Standards Foundation (FASF), responsible for developing sustainability disclosure standards for Japanese companies while ensuring alignment with ISSB standards.
(※3) CSRD (ESRS)
CSRD (Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive): A directive in the European Union (EU) that mandates companies to disclose sustainability information.
ESRS (European Sustainability Reporting Standards): Standards based on CSRD that define the content and methods of sustainability information that companies must disclose.
(※4) CDP
CDP (formerly Carbon Disclosure Project): An international non-profit organization that requests companies and local governments to disclose environmental information such as climate change, water, and forests, and evaluates and scores this information.
(※5) SBTi
SBTi (Science Based Targets initiative): An international initiative that verifies and certifies whether corporate greenhouse gas emission reduction targets are based on scientific evidence aligned with the Paris Agreement.

Company Overview
Company Name: Zeroboard Inc. (https://www.zeroboard.jp/)
Location: 10F, Sumitomo Real Estate Tokyo Mita South Tower, 3-5-27 Mita, Minato-ku, Tokyo
Representative Director: Michitaka Tokeiji
Established: August 24, 2021
Business Activities: Development and provision of the comprehensive cloud solution "Zeroboard Sustainability Platform" for supporting the collection, management, and disclosure of ESG-related data / Consulting on sustainability management / Operation of the user community "All Aboard!"

Overview of Zeroboard Sustainability Platform
It is a comprehensive cloud solution for supporting the collection, management, and disclosure of ESG-related data. With a rich product lineup, it seamlessly supports the processes necessary for sustainability management, including ESG disclosure.

[Webinars for Companies Currently Held]
Our company holds monthly webinars for companies on decarbonization management. We explain the latest trends in domestic and international decarbonization and how to use various software, including 'Zeroboard,' so please register. For details, please visit the events page on our website.

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