Sustainability Reporting Trends
New Research Shows 2023 Sustainability Reporting at Record Levels as U.S. Public Companies Prepare for Mandated Disclosure
Increases Continue in Both Large-Cap and Mid-Cap Companies; 87% of Smaller Half of Russell 1000® Report and S&P 500® Companies Approach 100%
New Research Shows Mid-Cap U.S. Public Companies Closing Sustainability Reporting Gap in 2022
82% of Smallest Half of Russell 1000® Published ESG Reports; Record 98% of S&P 500® Companies and 90% of Total Russell 1000 Companies
All-Time High of Sustainability Reports Among U.S. Publicly-Traded Companies: 96% of S&P® 500 and 81% of Russell 1000®
For the entire Russell 1000 Index, our research found that 81% of the Russell 1000 companies published a sustainability report in 2021, up from 70% in 2021. The number of reporters in the smallest half by market cap of the Russell 1000 index rose to 68% in 2020 from 49% in 2020, showing that corporate sustainability reporting is increasingly being adopted as a best practice by mid-cap companies.
92% of the S&P 500® and 70% of the Russell 1000® Published Sustainability Reports in 2020, G&A Research Shows
When analyzing the reporting trends of the entire Russell 1000 Index, we broke out the companies into the larger and smaller halves of the index by market cap. The largest half by market cap of the Russell 1000 Index generally comprises the same companies as the S&P 500 Index. G&A’s research found that 92% of the S&P 500 companies published a sustainability report in 2020, up from 90% in 2019.
65% of the Russell 1000® Index Published Sustainability Reports in 2019
39% of Companies in the Smallest Half by Market Cap of Russell 1000 Index Published Sustainability Reports in 2019 - Up From 34% in 2018
90% of S&P 500 Index® Companies Publish Sustainability / Responsibility Reports in 2019
G&A Institute announces the results of its annual S&P 500 sustainability reporting analysis. 90% of the S&P 500 published corporate sustainability reports, an all-time high!
FLASH REPORT: 60% of Russell 1000® Are Publishing Sustainability Reports, G&A Institute’s 2018 Inaugural Benchmark Study Shows
G&A found that 60% of the [total] Russell 1000® published sustainability reports in 2018. When we now examine the bottom half in the Russell 1000®, beyond the S&P 500, we find that only 34% of these companies are publishing sustainability reports.
FLASH REPORT: 86% of S&P 500 Index® Companies Publish Sustainability / Responsibility Reports in 2018
The G&A research team determined that 86% of the companies in the S&P 500 Index® published sustainability or corporate responsibility reports in the year 2018. Entering 2019, just 14% of the S&P 500 declined to publish sustainability reports. The practice of reporting by almost 500 companies is holding steady with minor increases year after year.
FLASH REPORT: 85% of S&P 500 Index® Companies Publish Sustainability Reports in 2017
“Sustainability reporting” rose dramatically from 2011, when roughly 20% of companies published reports, to 72% just three years later in 2013. From 2013 to 2017, the frequency of reporting has increased each year, now up to 85% of companies reporting in 2017. This enhanced and expanded corporate disclosure and structured reporting underscores the importance and value of considering corporate ESG issues when planning growth strategies, allocating capital, managing resources and communicating results to stakeholders such as cusfrom Active Campaigntomers, employees, and shareholders.
FLASH REPORT: 82% of the S&P 500 Companies Published Corporate Sustainability Reports in 2016
In the sixth annual monitoring and analysis of S&P 500 Index® company sustainability reporting, just completed by the Governance & Accountability Institute research team, the findings are that eighty-two percent (82%) of the companies included in this important investment benchmark published a sustainability or corporate responsibility report in the year 2016.
FLASH REPORT: Eighty One Percent (81%) of the S&P 500 Index Companies Published Corporate Sustainability Reports in 2015
G&A Institute charted the rapid and significant uptake in corporate sustainability reporting among the 500 companies -- over the years, sustainability reporting rose from just 20% of the companies reporting in 2011 to 81% in 2015.
FLASH REPORT — Seventy-Five Percent (75%) of the S&P 500 Index Published Corporate Sustainability Reports in 2014
Sustainability reporting has become the clear norm in the U.S. capital markets as represented by our four year study of the S&P 500*. Over the last four years there has been significant uptake in sustainability reporting from just 20% in 2011 to 75% in 2015, demonstrating the necessity of measuring and managing ESG issues in response to growing stakeholder and stockholder demands.
Resource Papers
IFRS Sustainability Standards Key Takeaways: What to know about IFRS S1 and S2
In June 2023, the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) released the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) Sustainability Disclosure Standards. The Standards are known as IFRS S1: General Requirements of Sustainability-related Financial Information and IFRS S2: Climate-related Disclosures. The purpose of IFRS S1 and S2 is to provide global criteria for sustainability reporting, inform investors, and facilitate disclosure of comprehensive sustainability-related information for global capital markets.
Taking on the Newest Challenge in Corporate Reporting: Key Elements of the SEC’s Climate-Related Disclosure Final Rule
On March 6, 2024, the commissioners of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted the final rule mandating companies to disclose in their SEC filings climate-related risks and material impacts on their business, strategy, and outlook.
CSRD Requirements for Non-EU Companies
The CSRD is intended to be a mechanism for enhancing the quality, transparency, and comparability of reported sustainability information, and thousands of non-EU companies fall within its scope. The CSRD mandates more than just routine sustainability reporting; it also mandates additional elements such as assurance and a double materiality assessment.
AB 1305: Voluntary Carbon Market Disclosures Act
California became the first state to regulate the voluntary carbon market and climate-related claims after the Voluntary Carbon Market Disclosures Act (AB 1305) became effective on January 1, 2024. AB 1305 aims to address corporate “greenwashing” by increasing transparency into the voluntary carbon market and requiring public disclosure of substantiating evidence for climate-related claims.
California Passes Comprehensive Climate-Related Disclosure Laws
When Governor Gavin Newsom officially signed the Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act (SB 253) and the Climate-Related Financial Risk Act (SB 261) into law in October 2023, California became the first state in the nation to require entities to disclose their greenhouse gas emissions and climate-related risks. With the passage of these laws, California jumped ahead of federal reporting requirements, as the proposed SEC rule on climate-related disclosures has not yet been finalized and its implementation timeline is uncertain.
SEC Releases Draft Rule on Climate-Related Disclosures
The 500+ page draft was released in March and is now in a required public comment period (that SEC extended until mid-June). It should be expected there will volumes of responses to SEC and we’ll likely see a final version by year-end 2022.
On Disclosure of Climate-Related Financial Risk - A G&A Resource Paper
The Biden-Harris Administration “Whole of Government” approach to meeting the many challenges of climate change is wide and deep, and policies, programs, actions taken by the federal government to address “the climate crisis” will affect many companies and business interests.
The Carbon Key - A G&A Resource Paper
Thoughts on More Expansive Corporate Supply Chain Disclosure & Reporting by a Veteran Investor Relations Professional
Biden-Harris White House Actions - A G&A Resource Paper
Addressing Climate Change Issues Across “The Whole of Government” in the United States
Which KPIs and Data Sets Really Matter?
Corporate execs and managers wrestle with the answers to the critical questions in the internal discussions about ESG / sustainability Key Performance Indicators and ESG Metrics to publicly disclose. Which? Why? How? Who want this information
Will there be mandates on disclosures related to Human Capital Management?
Two aspects were being considered with a Draft Rule now made Final: (1) accommodating more Principles- based corporate reporting; and (2) requiring or encouraging expanded disclosure related to Human Capital Management (HCM). The disclosure rule is about to go into effect. We’ve created a Resource Guide to help managers understand the background of these developments with information about the Final Rule.
How are credit rating agencies integrating ESG factors? -A G&A Resource Paper
One of the most important trends in sustainability that the G&A Institute team tracks is the mainstreaming of ESG rankings and ratings alongside the traditional financials. Nowhere is this trend more clear than in the activities of the three main credit rating agencies – Fitch Ratings, Moody's, and S&P Global.
Analysis of The Business Roundtable Companies ESG Reporting Practices Resource Paper
The G&A Institute research team examined the ESG / sustainability reporting practices of the BRT signatory corporations, and released a resource paper with the results.
Climate-Related Corporate Risk Disclosures - A G&A Resource Guide
To help identify the data and information needed by investors, lenders, and insurance underwriters to appropriately assess and price climate-related risks and opportunities, the Financial Stability Board (FSB) established an industry-led task force to develop disclosure recommendations: The Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD).
State Street Global Advisors (SSGA): The Importance of the R-Factor -A G&A Resource Paper
Leading asset managers in North America and Europe are increasingly using the corporate ESG profiles, scores, rankings and ratings of third party service providers as they analyze and assess companies in their portfolios, or to screen public companies “in or out” of portfolio.
Quick Reference Guide
European Sustainability Reporting Standards Quick Reference
Corporate clients have been asking the G&A Institute team about recent developments at the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission, which could affect corporate ESG disclosure and reporting. With the November 2020 election of a Democrat President and Vice President, the SEC now has a 3-2 balance – three Democrat, two Republican commissioners - with a Democrat in the chair, and the Commission seems poised to take action on ESG reporting.
Issue Briefs
Implementing the SEC Climate Rules: Considering Internal Controls Over Sustainability Reporting (ICSR)
In March 2024, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission adopted new rules regarding climate-related disclosures for investors. (Release No. 33-11275, The Enhancement and Standardization of Climate-Related Disclosures for Investors.) Although the SEC’s final rules have been stayed due to pending litigation, many companies that would otherwise be required to comply are nevertheless moving forward toward operationalizing and implementing them. These same companies are also in the process of addressing similar sustainability related disclosure regulations and guidance from other jurisdictions.
Where Does the SEC Stand on Corporate ESG Disclosure
Corporate clients have been asking the G&A Institute team about recent developments at the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission, which could affect corporate ESG disclosure and reporting. With the November 2020 election of a Democrat President and Vice President, the SEC now has a 3-2 balance – three Democrat, two Republican commissioners - with a Democrat in the chair, and the Commission seems poised to take action on ESG reporting.
As Leaders Summit on Climate Opens, Biden-Harris Administration Sets Tone with New Initiatives
The 51st Earth Day celebration took place on April 22, midweek of the wider Climate Week observations in the United States and many other lands. This year’s U.S. government participation is very different from 2020 and other recent years.
Doing Business in California? State Lawmakers Move Toward Requiring Carbon Emissions Disclosure
In our conversations with corporate clients, we often find ourselves saying “stay tuned” to evolving issues or topics. Lately, the tempo has picked up for that expression, with important corporate disclosure and reporting requirements in various stages of development around the world.
Buy, Sell or Hold? Important Considerations for Issuer Disclosure and Omissions as ESG Reporting Becomes More Universal Practice
In this Issue Brief, G&A Institute addresses executives' latest questions on ESG disclosure and reporting practices. In corporate financial reporting, the team preparing public disclosures typically holds discussions with internal and external stakeholders around the materiality of information. Will each type of information if disclosed – or importantly, if omitted and not disclosed – influence investors’ decisions to "buy, sell, or hold"? In the historic Securities & Exchange Act of 1934, Section 14 prohibits material misrepresentations and omissions in the proxy statements sent to stockholders.
Research Reports
Sector Study on Sustainability Materiality of the SDG Targets & GRI Indicators
Download the results of the analysis of 1,387 corporate enterprises’ materiality decisions in their sustainability reports to examine sector trends on all 91 of the GRI G4 Specific Standard Disclosures and topics related to the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (the SDGs) and their 169 targets. Forty individual sector reports including the "Top GRI Indicators / Disclosures" and "Top SDG Targets" rankings for each sector are also available for download.
Sustainability - What Matters?
Governance & Accountability Institute is pleased to present the highlights of its comprehensive "Sustainability - What Matters?" research project examining 1,246 GRI G3 and G3.1 sustainability reports in 35 sectors published in 2012 for their disclosure practices on all 84 GRI performance indicators. The objective of this report is to serve as a starting point for discussion and planning around sector-specific materiality — as seen through the lens of these 1,246 reporting organizations as well as the lens of their respective stakeholders.
Corporate ESG / Sustainability / Responsibility Reporting – Does It Matter? (2012)
G&A team members for the second year have been examining corporate sustainability and responsibility reporting trends by US-domiciled companies to explore the question -- does such reporting really matter? The research team began their research with these commonly-asked queries in mind:
Corporate ESG / Sustainability Reporting - Does it Matter? (2011)
Corporate Sustainability and Responsibility Performance and Reporting…does it matter to asset owners and money managers? To ESG researchers and analysts…reputation raters & rankers…”best of” list compilers? Who cares about corporate ESG performance reporting?
Collaborations
Using The GRI Sustainability Reporting Framework Improves The Quality of ESG Disclosures - Joint Research From G&A Institute and Baruch College Shows
Now That Most Companies Are Publishing Sustainability Reports the Question Arises: What is the Quality of the Content of These Reports? To explore the answers, G&A teamed with The CSR-Sustainability Monitor® (CSR-S Monitor) research team at the Weissman Center for International Business, Baruch College/CUNY, to combine their partners' "Big Data" sets to extract deeper intelligence on the subject.
G&A Institute Contributes to Carrots & Sticks III (2013 Edition) Sustainability Reporting Policies Worldwide - Today's Best Practice, Tomorrows Trends
The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) in collaboration with KPMG, UNEP, Centre for Corporate Governance in Africa and various stakeholders from each country studied recently released the third edition of the "Carrots & Sticks" publication. This important publication analyzes the growing number of national and international reporting policies and guidance from around the world.
GRI Focal Point US Assurance Trends Study
GRI in collaboration with Bloomberg LP and G&A Institute launched a special US study showcasing trends on assurance of sustainability information. GRI did this by means of a webinar with over a 100 attendees.