CEBDS initiative, in partnership with the Report Group, seeks to increase the effectiveness of reports. Items such as ease of access to information, stakeholder engagement and establishment of goals and commitments
Increasingly important for companies, sustainability reports are the subject of a new study carried out by CEBDS (Brazilian Business Council for Sustainable Development), in partnership with sustainability consultancy Report. The first Brazilian edition of Reporting Matters was launched this Tuesday, January 30th. This is an extensive analysis of reports referring to 2022 from 77 companies, from different sectors of the economy operating in the country.
Recently, the CVM (Securities Commission) reinforced the non-financial reporting agenda by launching a resolution that obliges publicly traded companies to publish reports from 2026 onwards. In addition, the significant growth of regulations and voluntary initiatives across the The world has put sustainability reporting in the spotlight as a wide range of stakeholders, and investors in particular, now demand comprehensive, comparable and reliable information to use in decision-making.
Therefore, Reporting Matters arrives in Brazil with the aim of evaluating the way in which companies report their actions and promoting the improvement of reports, following the methodology developed by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), together with Radley Yeldar . The work involved a team of 17 consultants, who dedicated almost 800 hours to examine more than 9 thousand pages.
In total, 16 criteria and 81 sub-criteria were evaluated according to the Reporting Matters methodology. These include materiality, stakeholder engagement, external verification, goals and commitments, implementation and controls, and impact. The 10 reports with the highest scores were, in alphabetical order: Ambev, Arezzo, Boticário, CBA, Eneva, GPA, Itaú, Natura, Petrobras and Suzano.
“There is a growing demand from different stakeholders for companies to make commitments linked to sustainability, establish specific and measurable goals, carry out concrete actions and be transparent about the impacts generated – positive and negative. Sustainability reports play a very important role in this context. They are capable of contributing to increasing the trust and credibility of companies. Building a good report, however, can be a big challenge, as today there are different standards and requirements”, comments Ricardo Mastroti, executive director of CEBDS.
According to the survey, 63% of the reports analyzed present the company's priority Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), but only 10% defined clear goals linked to the SDGs. Additionally, 74% of the reports received external audit (of a portion or the entire report); 58% have a Net Zero commitment (to reduce greenhouse gas emissions) by 2050; 45% responded to their indicators in accordance with GRI standards and 24% reported reporting based on GRI standards.
“Reporting Matters Brasil arrives at a time when the sustainability reporting scenario is accelerating around the world with the launch of new standards and frameworks, increasing pressure from regulators and climate change becoming present in investors' portfolios. In this scenario, the study becomes a valuable tool to guide companies in the search for more effective communication and management practices”, says Estevam Pereira, partner at Grupo Report.
For filmmakers, finding alignment among sustainability reporting standards will help meet the needs of global markets, including investors who allocate capital internationally, companies that operate and raise capital across national borders, and accounting professionals who serve all corporate reporting users.
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About CEBDS:
CEBDS is a non-profit civil association that promotes sustainable development through engagement with governments and civil society, in addition to disseminating the most recent concepts and practices on the topic. Founded in 1997, it brings together more than 110 of the largest business groups in the country, responsible for more than 1 million direct jobs. CEBDS represents in Brazil the network of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), which includes almost 60 national and regional councils in 36 countries and 22 industrial sectors, together with 200 business groups operating on all continents.
About the Report Group:
Grupo Report is a sustainability and ESG consultancy with more than two decades of experience in Brazil and Latin America. With sustainable development as a central theme for business, it operates on 8 integrated and complementary fronts for the transformation of companies through the integration of this thinking into planning, management and communication. With a multidisciplinary team, combined with an integrated portfolio of services, it enhances the sustainability journey of companies at different stages of maturity.
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