The tenth edition of The Road Ahead survey on Corporate Responsibility, conducted by KPMG, in association with CEBDS, shows that 78% of companies integrate financial and non-financial information in their annual statements. In Brazil alone, the increase between 2015 and 2017 was 16%, which indicates a growing perception that data that is not related to finance is also important for investors.
For Ricardo Zibas, managing partner of sustainability at KPMG Brazil, corporations are increasingly committed to demonstrating their contributions to society. “We already have a significant amount of socio-environmental information disclosed by companies. The challenge now is in relation to the quality of this information and the financial impact it causes,” he highlighted. On the other hand, Few companies recognize that climate change can bring financial risks: 72% of the world's largest companies ignore this relationship.
In terms of sectors, companies operating in Forestry and Paper (44%), Mining (40%), and Oil and Natural Gas (39%) have the highest rates of climate-related risk recognition in their reporting. They are closely followed by Automotive (38%) and Utilities (38%). Healthcare (14%), Transportation and Entertainment (20%), and Retail (23%) are sectors least likely to recognize climate risk.
The main findings of the study also include:
The UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – a set of 17 global targets to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all – have been met with strong acceptance by businesses around the world in less than two years since their launch in late 2015. More than a third (39%) of the reports studied within KPMG's research link companies' corporate responsibility activities with the SDGs. The proportion grows to 43% of the reports when the 250 largest companies in the world are specifically examined.
About three-quarters of company reports (73%) from all 49 countries recognize human rights as a corporate responsibility issue that the company needs to address. This proportion rises to 90% in the group of the 250 largest companies in the world. Companies based in India, the United Kingdom and Japan are the most likely to recognize the issue of human rights, as are companies operating in the mining sector.
Two-thirds of the reports (67%) of the world’s 250 largest companies disclose their targets for reducing the company’s carbon emissions. However, most of these reports (69%) do not align with the climate targets being set by governments, regional authorities (such as the European Union) or the UN, within the Paris Agreement.
The Road Ahead survey is conducted every two years and this year it analyzed data from 4,900 companies in 49 countries. To read the full study, click here here [in English].
