Members of The Conference Board get exclusive access to the full range of products and services that deliver Trusted Insights for What's Ahead TM including webcasts, publications, data and analysis, plus discounts to conferences and events.
11 December 2023 / Quick Take
The trend toward increasing climate disclosure regulation should lead to greater consistency in the information provided by companies, but the opposite is happening. That is because of the inconsistency among the disclosure regimes that have been issued by the EU, the state of California, and the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), as well as the draft rule pending at the SEC.
With thousands of US firms subject to overlapping and diverging disclosure regimes, companies should set their disclosure sights higher than mere regulatory compliance. Simply meeting regulatory requirements is likely to fall short of companies’ need to provide a coherent narrative of how they are operating in an environmentally responsible manner that is tied to their business strategy.
As a start, companies can be more consistent in the topics they cover. For example, in 2022, 94% of S&P 500 companies disclosed that they had a climate policy, and 89% disclosed their total GHG emissions, but a smaller percentage (80%) disclosed their climate risks. Disclosing a climate policy, without also disclosing the underlying risks, means some companies are leaving out an important part of their climate story.
To go beyond compliance, companies should proactively identify climate-related concerns relevant to their operations and integrate them into their business strategy. Simultaneously, companies should foster collaborations with industry peers, other industries, and both upstream suppliers and downstream customers to help them align their efforts with broader climate objectives. This more “organic” approach is likely to lead to more meaningful and durable progress toward climate objectives while also responding effectively to market pressure.
For more statistics on environmental and other ESG disclosures, please visit our Live Dashboards on ESG Advantage, powered by ESGAUGE.
The trend toward increasing climate disclosure regulation should lead to greater consistency in the information provided by companies, but the opposite is happening. That is because of the inconsistency among the disclosure regimes that have been issued by the EU, the state of California, and the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), as well as the draft rule pending at the SEC.
With thousands of US firms subject to overlapping and diverging disclosure regimes, companies should set their disclosure sights higher than mere regulatory compliance. Simply meeting regulatory requirements is likely to fall short of companies’ need to provide a coherent narrative of how they are operating in an environmentally responsible manner that is tied to their business strategy.
As a start, companies can be more consistent in the topics they cover. For example, in 2022, 94% of S&P 500 companies disclosed that they had a climate policy, and 89% disclosed their total GHG emissions, but a smaller percentage (80%) disclosed their climate risks. Disclosing a climate policy, without also disclosing the underlying risks, means some companies are leaving out an important part of their climate story.
To go beyond compliance, companies should proactively identify climate-related concerns relevant to their operations and integrate them into their business strategy. Simultaneously, companies should foster collaborations with industry peers, other industries, and both upstream suppliers and downstream customers to help them align their efforts with broader climate objectives. This more “organic” approach is likely to lead to more meaningful and durable progress toward climate objectives while also responding effectively to market pressure.
For more statistics on environmental and other ESG disclosures, please visit our Live Dashboards on ESG Advantage, powered by ESGAUGE.
Members of The Conference Board get exclusive access to Trusted Insights for What’s AheadTM through publications, Conferences and events, webcasts, podcasts, data & analysis, and Member Communities.
You already have an account with The Conference Board.
Please try to login in with your email or click here if you have forgotten your password.
Former Senior Researcher, ESG Center
The Conference Board
Greener Impact: Advancing Environmental Goals Through Corporate Citizenship
September 24, 2024
Greener Impact: Advancing Environmental Goals Through Corporate Citizenship
September 24, 2024