Building on our highlight of reporting convergence and confusion in our 2021 Actions for Business, this month our lead article provides “a vision for sustainability reporting”, providing five key developments that will shape the future of sustainability reporting by 2030. Our thanks to Tim Mohin, Executive Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer and Chris Matthews, Head of Sustainability, United Utilities who provided invaluable insight for this article. Our selection of current news stories reflects the increasing requirements, such as accelerating mandatory requirements, with the UK accounting regulator calling for more accessible, non-expert information. While the introduction of the new European SFDR legislation for asset managers shows how big steps are never easy, as the mandatory indicators still fall short. Meantime the question mark over whether Tesla will be able to join the S&P 500 ESG index, despite its green products, demonstrates the need for greater sustainability disclosure and performance. Perhaps at its simplest, our guiding thought for reporting is that it ought to be about communication, or as Chris Matthews says, “Tell your story in a way that will be consumed.” |