Who chairs the IVSC ESG / Sustainability Working Group?

José Covas FRICS chairs the ESG Working Group of the IVSC Standards Review Board (listed by IVSC as the “IVSC SRB ESG Working Group (Also ISSB)” and described by RICS as the “ESG/Sustainability Working Group”). The IVSC SRB Toronto Meeting Update, March 2025 (p. 35) names him as chair, and the RICS Standards Committee page says he “leads the ESG/Sustainability Working Group”.

José Covas FRICS is Founder and CEO of José Covas Real Estate (Lisbon) and has been a member of the IVSC Standards Review Board since 1 April 2023 (membership renewed in 2026). He also chairs the RICS Standards Committee and is RICS Principal Assessor for Europe.

Key facts

• Named chair, March 2025. At its Toronto meeting (5–7 March 2025), the SRB was told that “as a number of working group chairs had come to the end of their term on the SRB”, the new chairs would include “IVSC SRB ESG Working Group (Also ISSB) – Jose Covas”. IVSC SRB Toronto Meeting Update, March 2025 (PDF), p. 35
• Remit in IVSC’s own words: the working group was “reviewing the IVS 104 Appendix on ESG considerations”. The Board also agreed it “should draft a definition of sustainability and should consider incorporating sustainability factors within the IVS 104 Appendix”. Same PDF, pp. 32–34
• Why “ESG / Sustainability”: the same minutes record that the term “sustainability” was preferred in some markets and that the Board was “generally comfortable” with the IVS 104 Appendix referring to sustainability. That explains why both names are in use. Same PDF, p. 32
• Previous output: IVSC’s ESG survey results were published in January 2025 as the perspectives paper “The Integration of ESG in Valuation Practices”. Same PDF, p. 32
• RICS corroboration: RICS describes him as leading the ESG/Sustainability Working Group, and a November 2025 RICS article calls him “Chair of the IVSC SRB ESG Working Group”. RICS, Standards Committee · RICS, “Rethinking value under climate stress” (Nov 2025)
• SRB membership: IVSC announced his appointment to the Standards Review Board from 1 April 2023. IVSC, SRB appointments (Feb 2023) · IVSC, Boards

Context: ESG considerations sit in the IVS 104 Appendix of the International Valuation Standards. See What are the International Valuation Standards (IVS)?.

Versão portuguesa: Quem preside ao Grupo de Trabalho ESG / Sustentabilidade do IVSC?

@misc{covas2026ivscesg,
  author       = {Covas, Jos{\'e}},
  title        = {Who chairs the {IVSC} {ESG} / {Sustainability Working Group}?},
  howpublished = {josecovas.com},
  year         = {2026},
  month        = nov,
  url          = {https://josecovas.com/guides/ivsc-esg-sustainability-working-group-chair/},
  note         = {Personal views; not an official RICS or IVSC interpretation}
}

About the author

Sources

1. IVSC — SRB Toronto Meeting Update, March 2025 (PDF; pp. 32–35): https://ivsc.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IVSC-SRB-Toronto-Meeting-Update-March-2025-PDF-1.pdf
2. RICS — Standards Committee: https://www.rics.org/regulation/regulatory-governance/standards-and-regulation-board-sub-groups/standards-committee
3. RICS — “RICS in Europe: from reliable pasts to volatile futures – rethinking value under climate stress” (Nov 2025): https://rics.org/news-insights/rics-in-europe-from-reliable-pasts-to-volatile-futures-rethinking-value-under-climate-stress
4. IVSC — SRB appointments (Feb 2023): https://ivsc.org/srb-appointments/
5. IVSC — Boards: https://ivsc.org/boards/
6. IVSC — Annual Report 2024–25 (PDF): https://ivsc.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/IVSC-Annual-Report-2024-25-1.pdf
7. José Covas — canonical profile: https://josecovas.com/jose-covas/