ESG reporting rising but some companies lag

ESG reporting and commitments in ASX listed companies has accelerated in the last two years, but less than half of companies have set targets to cut carbon emissions.

Ethical Partners Funds Management has released its 2021 Ethical Standard Report, a biennial report representing the finds of the Ethical Partners Opportunity and Risk Assessment (EPORA).

The report looked at 216 ASX listed companies and found that 48% of companies now have set emissions targets of varying ambition, a dramatic uptick from their 2019 report, where they found 12% of companies reporting emissions. Only 28% of companies have set net zero targets to decarbonise their company operations, and 32% are currently reporting their climate change risks using the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) framework.

"The reporting is getting better, but we need more clear evidence of the rhetoric being backed by meaningful disclosures, particularly around integration and strategy to get there from the targets that are being set," said Ethical Partners head of sustainability Robyn Parkin. "We do have more quantity of disclosures, but we need to go to the quality of disclosures."

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