Sustainability Reporting Trends in 2023 Show U.S. Companies Preparing for Mandatory Disclosure

As our loyal newsletter readers know, G&A Institute has been doing annual research on sustainability reporting trends for well over a decade. We recently released our 13th annual edition of Sustainability Report in Focus, tracking the publication of sustainability reports by the largest U.S. publicly traded companies in the S&P 500® Index and the Russell 1000® Index.

Our research showed substantial increases in sustainability reporting for both large-cap and mid-cap U.S. public companies, as the U.S. regulatory environment moves to follow Europe on required ESG reporting. A record 93% of Russell 1000 companies published a sustainability report in 2023 - an increase from 90% in 2022. The larger half by market cap of the Russell 1000 (i.e., the S&P 500) are nearing 100% reporters with 98.6% publishing a report in 2023.

G&A’s Co-Founders spoke out on the importance of being prepared for upcoming mandatory reporting. Louis Coppola, Executive Vice President, said, “The shift to mandatory reporting offers an unprecedented opportunity to enhance investor confidence, stakeholder trust, and operational resilience. This is an era where leadership in sustainability will define success.”

Hank Boerner, G&A’s Chairman and Chief Strategist, said, “When ESG disclosures are eventually mandated, which we expect will occur soon through pending and proposed measures, we believe companies reporting today will be well ahead in meeting these requirements.”

G&A’s 2024 Sustainability Reporting in Focus report provides analysis of corporate report content including reporting frameworks and standards used – such as the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), Sustainable Accounting Standards Board (SASB), and Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD). SASB continued to be the most widely used sustainability standard, with 81% of Russell 1000 reporters aligning with SASB in 2023 – up from 78% in 2022.

The report also includes analysis on how many companies align with initiatives such as the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), trends in external assurance, and CDP reporting. For the first time, G&A’s 2024 research includes sector-specific analysis of reporting trends within all 11 sectors of the Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS®), to provide additional insights into reporting behavior per industry sector.

The G&A team is ready to discuss our research and to provide counsel to help your company prepare for upcoming mandatory requirements. Reach out to us at info@ga-institute.com.

This is just the introduction of G&A's Sustainability Highlights newsletter this week. Click here to view the full issue.