Sound sustainability-related practices enable companies to recognise and respond to evolving environmental and social trends. Evidence presented in this report shows that sustainability disclosure practices have improved globally, yet continued efforts remain essential to enhance companies’ capacity to generate long-term growth.
Between 2022 and 2024, sustainability-related disclosure expanded from 86% to 91% of global market capitalisation.
In 2024, almost 12 900 companies representing 91% of listed companies by global market capitalisation disclosed sustainability‑related information, up from 9 600 companies representing 86% of market capitalisation in 2022. Sector-wise, energy companies have the highest rate of disclosure, covering 94% of the industry’s market capitalisation; the real estate sector has the lowest share at 78%. In 2024, companies representing 88% of market capitalisation disclosed scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions and 76% disclosed at least one category of scope 3 emissions.
In 2024, 42% of companies disclosing sustainability-related information obtained assurance of this information by an external service provider. Most companies rely on limited assurance (56%), with far fewer relying on reasonable assurance (17%). Globally, more than half of the sustainability‑related assurances are performed by an auditor.
Companies use different accounting standards and frameworks to disclose sustainability information. The top three globally are the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards, used by more than 6 500 companies, the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) recommendations by more than 4 800 companies, and SASB Standards by almost 3 500 companies. Globally, 582 companies use IFRS S1 and S2 from the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB). At least 1 800 companies listed in the European Union are subject to the use of the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) in 2025.
Institutional investors hold large equity stakes (~35%) in both the 100 highest GHG emitters and the 100 leading green-patent filers, while the public sector has a sizeable share (~20%) only among the high emitters.
Climate change is considered to be a financially material risk for listed companies that account for 65% of global market capitalisation. Companies considered to be facing risks related to climate change, data security and human capital have larger market capitalisation than those primarily facing other sustainability‑related risks such as ecological impacts or human rights.
Among the 100 listed companies that disclose the highest GHG emissions, 35 are from the energy industry. Institutional investors hold the largest share of equity in these 100 companies (36%), followed by the public sector with 18%.
While the adoption of existing green technologies by high-emitting companies is essential for the transition to a low‑carbon economy, the development of new technologies will also be necessary for a successful transition. Japanese companies account for just over half of the 100 listed companies with the highest number of green patents, followed by the United States, Developed Asia‑Pacific excl. Japan and US, and Europe (~15% each). Institutional investors own 37% of the equity in these companies, and the public sector a much smaller portion (4%).
Listed companies increasingly adopted practices that more fully integrate sustainability considerations between 2022 and 2024.
In 2024, two‑thirds of companies by market capitalisation had a board-level committee whose mandate included overseeing sustainability risks. The board itself may also consider sustainability-related issues. In 2024, the board in 70% of companies by market capitalisation oversaw climate-related issues, up from 53% in 2022. Boards can also consider sustainability matters when establishing senior executives’ compensation. Among companies with variable executive compensation, 67% by market capitalisation linked it to sustainability factors in 2024, raising from 60% in 2022.
To promote stakeholder and shareholder engagement, companies can establish a range of policies. Companies representing 11% of global market capitalisation include employee representatives on the board of directors, and 60% disclose the employee turnover rate. This high rate may reflect the financial materiality of human capital in many industries. Concerning shareholder engagement, 86% disclose their policies including, for instance, how shareholders can question the board or management or table proposals at shareholder meetings.
A growing number of human rights-related due diligence legislations requiring companies to disclose human rights information has driven increased consideration of these risks by companies. Yet, disclosure of meaningful information remains limited in practice. Disclosure of human rights information remains focused largely on reporting on key human rights policies and commitments (81% of global market capitalisation report having human rights policy) and is also correlated with company’s size and geography.
The energy sector is both a major emitter of greenhouse gases and a pivotal actor for deploying clean technologies.
The energy industry has the highest rate of sustainability-related disclosure globally, with 94% of companies (by market capitalisation) reporting information. At the global level, listed energy companies account for 31% of total emissions disclosed. The role of governments in curbing the sector’s emissions is significant. Listed state-owned enterprises (SOEs) account for almost a third of listed energy companies’ GHG emissions.
As part of their functions, boards should effectively oversee the lobbying activities that management conducts and finances. This ensures that management gives due regard to the boards’ long-term sustainability strategy. Globally, 7% of listed energy companies publicly disclose their position on climate‑related public policy and 6% assess whether their climate policies are consistent with those of the associations to which they belong.
Aligning corporate behaviour with sustainability goals will also require massive investment in alternative technologies to replace the combustion of fossil fuels. Between 2015 and 2024, net cash flow from listed energy companies’ operating activities increased by 32%, enabling them to triple dividend payments and share repurchase. Concurrently, net cash used in investing activities grew by less than 5%.
The analysis of 42 double materiality assessments undertaken by energy companies under the first reporting cycle of the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) shows that nearly all companies (98%) identified climate change as both a material negative impact and financial risk, making it the most consistently reported material issue. For most sustainability topics, companies assessed the materiality of impacts as higher than the materiality of financial risk, suggesting that companies may lack incentives to address the sustainability impacts they identify.
Sustainability-related corporate disclosure increased between 2022 and 2024, but additional progress is needed to further align with the G20/OECD Principles of Corporate Governance.
The state of play of sustainability-related disclosure in 2024 suggests several directions for standard‑setters and policymakers. The adoption of the International Standard on Sustainability Assurance (ISSA) 5000 by more jurisdictions could strengthen confidence in sustainability-related assurance and ensure a common understanding of what “limited” and “reasonable” assurance mean across jurisdictions.
To enhance comparability and reliability of sustainability information, regulators could also encourage reasonable assurance for companies disclosing scope 1 and 2 emissions and ensure that appropriate monitoring is in place to prevent potential conflicts of interest where the same firm provides both financial and sustainability assurance services. These efforts to enhance comparability could be supported by efforts from standard-setters to strengthen interoperability among sustainability-related disclosure frameworks, which would also help reduce compliance costs for companies operating across jurisdictions.
Both the public and private sectors have a strong role to play in aligning market practices with disclosed objectives. SOEs can lead by example on sustainability and shape outcomes for a low-carbon transition. Meanwhile, institutional investors may consider the long-term returns of investing in companies developing clean energy technologies. Boards’ growing recognition of climate change as a core financial and strategic issue can support these orientations, particularly when coupled with enhanced transparency on lobbying activities.
Given that companies representing more than two-thirds of global market capitalisation are considered to face financially material human-capital risks, greater attention to widely disclosed related metrics – such as employee turnover – may be warranted. Similarly, energy companies’ disclosure and target-setting for scope 3 emissions – largely linked to the use of sold products – may have limited global impact if adopted only by listed firms. Still, scope 3 emissions dwarf the operational footprint of energy companies and may therefore be too significant to be overlooked.
While disclosure of environmental R&D and capital expenditure remains fragmented, evidence suggests expectations of a gradual transition to a low-carbon economy. Yet, concerns remain regarding energy companies’ limited expansion of capital expenditure, as recent trends show rising dividends and share buybacks significantly outpacing investment growth.