An increasing number of studies point towards a strong positive correlation between ESG and financial performance. Whilst this has contributed to an increase in responsible investing, one of the implications of this has been the growth in the ESG rating and rankings initiatives.

The Conference Board recently released its annual study on the state of corporate sustainability disclosure around the world. The research assesses environmental and social disclosure practices of the 250 largest publicly traded companies domiciled in each of the 10 largest economies (by GDP at purchasing power parity) in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific. As we look to Asia, what are key trends in reporting practices across the region? Where do we see the biggest challenges ahead?

For most businesses in China, including foreign firms, directly addressing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is unchartered territory. Many companies are still in the early stages of their sustainability journey in China, and existing programs often lack strategic intent or deep commitment. We see a tremendous opportunity for foreign firms to exploit areas of Chinese policy and SDG alignment to raise the impact and relevance of their sustainability programs in China.

Science Based Targets (SBTs) for greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction are increasingly being discussed, however what they entail in detail is often not well understood.In contrast to a simple incremental approach, targets are considered ‘science-based’, if they aim at carbon reduction in accordance with the internationally agreed global climate change targets. In this blog, we want to give a very brief overview of the approach and its application.

2/3 of CEOs believe that digital transformation is a significant enabler for their sustainability strategy and they actively seek opportunities from digitization to improve sustainability performance and to discover more sustainable business models. The application of digital trans-formation and innovation for new more sustainable business models finds wide acceptance among company leaders. Now is the right time to develop proposals for new products and services and new revenue models.

Research on corporate sustainability reporting finds that large U.S. companies, even in the absence of domestic nonfinancial reporting requirements, are more transparent than their peers in much of the world. Sustainability disclosure by U.S. companies is largely driven by pressure from stakeholders.

Findings from a global study of corporate sustainability reporting reveals that companies in Japan have the highest overall sustainability disclosure rate. The findings raise the fundamental question of why companies report and whether reporting regulations are incentivizing compliance over substance.

For companies embarking on the practice of sustainability reporting it can be challenging to discern between the various reporting frameworks and guidelines. To ease this process, The Conference Board developed a table comparing some of the leading sustainability reporting frameworks.

What if companies were able to communicate—in clear financial terms—the total value they create for society? While still very much in a nascent stage, such attempts at total impact valuation are being piloted by more than a dozen major companies across an array of sectors and geographies. A new report finds significant promise in these approaches, but a range of challenges remain to be tackled. Above all, standards for definitions and methodologies are needed to facilitate meaningful comparison.

This month the EU parliament approved a provisional agreement revising six pieces of EU legislation on waste. The legislation is part of the EU’s Circular Economy Package, a policy initiative aimed at advancing the practice of “recycle, repair and re-use” and waste avoidance. A new report provides more details on these and other recent developments related to the EU Circular Economy Package, including some of the key implications for companies.