G&A Institute’s New Research Shows Big Jump in Sustainability Reporting by Mid-Cap U.S. Public Companies in 2022

82% of Smallest Half of Russell 1000 Published ESG Reports; Record 98% of S&P 500 Companies and 90% of Total Russell 1000 Companies

NEW YORK / ACCESSWIRE / November 15, 2023 / Governance & Accountability Institute, Inc. (G&A), a leading consulting and research firm on corporate sustainability and ESG, today announced the findings of its 2023 Sustainability Reporting in Focus research on companies in the S&P 500 Index and the Russell 1000 Index. The research showed substantial increases in sustainability reporting for both large-cap and mid-cap U.S. public companies[1]. The largest companies in the S&P 500 are approaching 100% reporting, while mid-cap companies making up the smallest half of the Russell 1000 continue to close the gap with 82% publishing reports in 2022.

G&A's 2023 Sustainability Reporting in Focus research analyzes ESG-related report content to provide detailed breakdowns of reporting frameworks and standards used - Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), Sustainable Accounting Standards Board (SASB), Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) -- as well as alignment with initiatives such as the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), trends in external assurance and CDP reporting, and breakdowns of non-reporters by sector. The latest edition of G&A's research report is available here.

Key takeaways from G&A's most recent research include:

• 90% of Russell 1000 companies published a sustainability report in 2022 - an increase from 81% in 2021.
• The smallest half by market cap of the Russell 1000 (mid-cap companies with approximately $2 billion-$4 billion in market cap) had the largest increase in reporting, jumping to 82% publishing a report in 2022 compared to 68% in 2021.
• Companies within the largest half by market cap of the Russell 1000 (i.e., the S&P 500) are nearing 100% reporters with 98% publishing a report in 2022 - an increase from 96% in 2021.
• Alignment with the TCFD recommendations continued to grow rapidly - now utilized by half of Russell 1000 reporters in 2022 - compared to 34% in 2021, 17% in 2020, and just 4% in 2019.
• Alignment with the GRI Standards remained consistent among Russell 1000 companies at 54% in 2022 when compared to the prior year.
• SASB remained the most-widely used sustainability standard among the Russell 1000 for the second year in a row - now utilized by over three-quarters of reporters (78%) in 2022.
• Discussions tied to COVID-19 remained high in 2022, with 87% of Russell 1000 reporters discussing the pandemic - compared to 89% in 2021.

Click here to view a graphical representation of the data noted above.