The Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) announced two new appointments to the SASB Standards Board, with the addition of Susanne Stormer and Mark Vaessen, effective January 1, 2021.

The SASB Foundation is a non-profit organization, established with the mission to establish industry-specific ESG disclosure standards for companies.  The standards set by SASB are designed to enable investors to assess the materiality of reported sustainability information, and to compare companies on these metrics on a global basis. As ESG disclosure and measurement grows in importance, many investors have begun requesting their portfolio companies begin reporting on sustainability issues in line with SASB standards.

Robert K. Steel, Chair of the SASB Foundation Board of Directors and Chairman of Perella Weinberg Partners said:

“We continue to see increasing use of SASB Standards by companies and investors around the world. As such, it has been a high priority to add international expertise to the SASB Standards Board. We are honored to welcome Susanne Stormer and Mark Vaessen as Standards Board members.”

The new appointments bring additional expertise in sustainability reporting and capital markets to the SASB Standards Board. According to SASB, they also add international depth.

Susanne Stormer has been at global healthcare company Novo Nordisk for nearly 20 years, currently serving as Chief Sustainability Advisor and Vice President, in Denmark. She has responsibility for leading the evolution of the company’s integrated management and reporting and she has spearheaded investor engagements on sustainability. She is also a member of the European Lab Steering Group’s Project Task Force that will advise the European Commission on revision of its Non-Financial Reporting Directive, as well as a member of the International Integrated Reporting Council, and the International Corporate Governance Network (ICGN) board.

Stormer said:

“I am excited to be invited to serve on the SASB Standards Board. My intent is to share my nearly three decades of experience with the development and practical application of reporting standards and frameworks that can convey in a more holistic picture how organisations are positioned for future success. With SASB, I share the ambition to provide better guidance that can lead to decision-useful, consistent, concise, and comparable information to users of corporate reporting, and—as importantly—help inform management teams to lead their organisations towards clear, well-defined goals as sustainable businesses.”

Vaessen currently serves as Partner, Head of Department of Professional Practice at KMPG, chairs the firm’s Better Business Reporting Network , and has been a partner in KPMG’s audit practice for more than 20 years. According to SASB, he brings in-depth knowledge of capital markets, global standards and EU regulatory issues to the standards board. He has also served as KPMG’s Global Head of IFRS, leading a global network of specialists who provided support to KPMG’s clients in implementing and applying IFRS. Vaessen is currently a board member of the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG), and  of Accountancy Europe, both focused on corporate reporting and capital markets matters. In addition, he served on the International Accounting Standards Board’s (IASB’s) IFRS Advisory Council from 2009 to 2013.

Vaessen said:

“We are at a pivotal time for corporate reporting globally and I am honored and excited to have been appointed to the SASB Standards Board. I fully subscribe to SASB’s commitment to meet the evolving needs of investors for sustainability information that is material for enterprise value creation. I commend the Board for its extensive market engagement and vision on how its Standards can serve as a basis for a coherent and comprehensive corporate reporting system. I hope that my experience with global standard setting and international background can provide an additional dimension to the future work of the Board.”