Sustainability Practices 2017 Key Findings

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. Rather than broadening the scope of their disclosure, companies are increasingly urged to report on sustainability practices that are more relevant and material to their specific lines of business. This transition is resulting in higher-quality data that are enabling investors and other stakeholders to make better informed decisions about companies’ full range of risks and opportunities. Despite the increase in the quality of sustainability disclosure, there continues to be much room for improvements in transparency.