Corporate sustainability reporting—the disclosure of environmental, Social, and governance (ESG) practices—continues to transition from an exercise in transparency to a more targeted and strategic mechanism for companies to engage with stakeholders. Recent analysis by The Conference Board captures trends in the disclosure of environmental and social practices by large public companies around the world.

This article originally appeared in Chief Executive on January 24, 2023.

This article originally appeared in Chief Executive on January 24, 2023.

This article originally appeared in Chief Executive on January 24, 2023.

Companies conduct materiality assessment to identify, refine and assess potential environmental, social and governance issues which are sufficiently important that they should inform corporate sustainability strategy and reporting. The Conference Board surveyed 50 senior sustainability executives to examine the current trends of materiality practices.

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.