Sustainability
reporting is becoming more popular among publicly-traded companies, according
to an analysis from New
York-based Governance &
Accountability Institute.
In
2011, 53% of S&P 500 companies reported on their environmental, social and
governance (ESG) impacts, up from just 19% the previous year, the study found. Similarly,
57% of Fortune 500 companies reported on their sustainability effort in the
latest analysis, compared with 20% in the prior year. The majority of companies
that report in the S&P
500 and the Fortune 500 use
the GRI
framework.
“An increasing number of corporate managers and
boards are recognizing the many benefits that measuring, managing, and
disclosing their strategies and performance on Environmental, Social and
Governance (ESG) factors can have for their companies,” the study said.
There
are tangential benefits to sustainability reporting, the G&A Institute
says. “Companies that are measuring and managing their sustainability issues
appear to perform better over the long-term in the capital markets.”
In addition, the analysis
states that companies that report on their sustainability strategies,
initiatives, programs and ESG performance appear to be more likely to be
selected for key sustainability reputational lists, ranked higher by
sustainability reputation raters and rankers, and, selected for inclusion on
leading sustainability investment indexes.
The
study notes that as 53% of
S&P500 and 57% of Fortune
500 companies are reporting on their ESG impacts, for the first time, the
non-reporters are in the minority.
"We believe this minority universe will continue to shrink as it has in the past few years as more large-cap companies embrace sustainability reporting,” said G&A Institute Chairman Hank Boerner in a press release. “The benefits of sustainability reporting are becoming increasingly obvious over time and the long-term benefits of adopting sustainability strategies and reporting on performance become easier to measure and quantify."
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