Chief Executives for Corporate Purpose (CECP) advises the world’s largest companies on their corporate purpose journeys. The sixth edition of the Investing in Society report presents an evidence-based analysis of the state of corporate purpose and assesses corporate purpose-driven actions around environmental, social and governance (ESG) management and sustainable business.
Overview
The report provides a quantitative and qualitative examination of the current state of corporate purpose. It analyses the latest trends in ESG metrics for companies in the Fortune 500® and top 3 000 companies by revenue globally, and summarises these findings in the CECP ESG Scorecard.
Using Bloomberg ESG data, the scorecard breaks down each key performance indicator (KPI) and analyses the three-year (2019 to 2021) median performance on each metric within a matched set of companies that disclosed data for all three years. The report also provides CECP’s opinion and research related to the biggest storylines in ESG.
9
Companies adopting net-zero targets at a remarkable rate. Yet most companies continue to exclude Scope 3 emissions from their targets.
8
Representation of women in corporate C-suite and borders is rising, albeit at a slow pace, with women muh more likely to secure a board seat than a CEO title.
7
The disclosure of WORKFORCE DIVERSITY DATA IS INCREASING; however, key measures to gauge progress are still disclosed at low rate, with few companies disclosing data on minority representation.
6
COMMUNITY SPENDING ROSE OVERALL from 2019 to 2021, but levels of community investments fell between 2020 and 2021 as companies scaled back on increased investments made in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
5
There was positive performance across the three years on 23 out of 25 ESG KPIs.
4
Sustainability is now a priority for boards and becoming integrated into the business decision-making process, with a majority of corporate sustainability committees reporting directly to the board. More companies are establishing a separate board committee with comprehensive ESG oversight.
3
Companies should me prepared to share their progress and impact on these emerging areas of focus: biodiversity social supply chain management and cybersecurity.
2
ESG reporting is moving steadily from being voluntary to being mandatory, with new rules and regulations proposed and adopted within multiple jurisdictions around the globe.
1
ESG disclosure is increasing with growth in environmental and social disclosure outpacing that of government disclosures, as companies are under pressure from investors, government and an increasing number of stakeholders, including customers and employees.
Key findings
ESG scorecard highlights
Percentage of Global 3 000 companies that have:
83%
Human rights policy
49%
Biodiversity policy
45%
Cybersecurity risk management policy
30%
Completed supply chain modern slavery assesssment
29%
Science-based targets
23%
Executive compensation linked to ESG
Conclusion
Investing in Society provides the tools for corporate social investment professionals to understand the state of corporate purpose throughout the broader corporate world and identify areas for their leadership’s attention. The report also provides industry benchmarking tables for professionals to compare their company’s performance against peers across the globe.
Find out more
- Download the Investing in Society report.
- Contact CECP at info@cecp.co
Source: The original version of this article was published in the Trialogue Business in Society Handbook 2023 (26th edition).
