CEBDS-led survey offers insights to help companies meet complex regulatory requirements and stakeholder expectations at the same time
The Brazilian Business Council for Sustainable Development (CEBDS) launched today the second edition of Reporting Matters. The material, which analyzed 74 reports from 2024 published by companies from different sectors of the economy operating in Brazil, was developed in partnership with the Report Group, and shows how companies have valued transparency in topics related to sustainability, in addition to adapting to new regulations.
The objective is to evaluate the way companies report their actions and promote the improvement of reports, following the methodology developed by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), in conjunction with Radley Yeldar. The work involved a team of 10 consultants, who dedicated hundreds of hours to examining more than 10,000 pages.
A new feature this year is that the survey presents two business cases for each of the criteria evaluated. The companies with the best performance were Assaí, B3, Banco do Brasil, Boticário, CBA, CCR, Cemig, Copel, Eletrobras, Eneva S/A, Natura, Nexa, Petrobras, Tim and Votorantim.
Compared to the first edition, there was an increase in almost all scores across the 16 criteria used for the assessment. In the “goals and commitments” category, for example, the score went from 5.6 to 7.4. When we consider “stakeholder engagement”, the average increased from 6.4 to 8.1.
The exception is the “Impact” criterion, applied to companies with the 20 best scores. The average score for this criterion decreased from 9 in 2023 to 8.1 in 2024, because the reports analyzed showed an absence or weak approach to the topic of “biodiversity”. The change in the list of companies evaluated in the new edition of Reporting Matters, when compared to the previous one, and the fact that biodiversity is still a recent topic for many companies are some of the factors that impacted this indicator.
“Once again, we had the participation of 98% from CEBDS members who publish national reports. This demonstrates the network’s commitment to continuously improving its reporting practices. The increase in the average score in 15 of the 16 criteria applied to all companies is a reflection of this evolution. One point to be highlighted is the adoption of new trends, such as the concept of dual materiality, that is, reports that consider both the financial impacts of ESG issues on the company and those that the company causes on the environment and society. In this edition, the practice is present in the majority of reports (54%), while in the last publication this percentage was 40%”, points out Daniela Mignani, Director of Institutional Relations and Communications at CEBDS.
For the organizers of Reporting Matters Brazil, the sharing of good practices proposed by the study accelerates the evolution of sustainability reporting, as it reveals how the market is adjusting, bringing references, experiences and new insights. Finding alignment between sustainability reporting standards will help meet the needs of global markets, including investors who allocate capital internationally.
“While part of the market questions the future of ESG, Reporting Matters reinforces that sustainability continues to be essential for business,” says Rachel Alves, new business manager at Report.
Link to access the report: https://biblioteca.cebds.org/reporting-matters-2a-edicao
