Fewer Keep Cups, more substance needed in sustainability reporting

Most sustainability reports fail to address matters of substance and provide information filled with positive optics but limited depth, according to the $1.5 billion Australian investment firm Ethical Partners. Ethical Partners published its annual ethical standards report last week, concluding that while transparency around sustainability issues is generally improving, it is of a "low standard" except for a handful of high achievers. The fund manager evaluated 214 stocks, of which 58 companies improved disclosure and 14 regressed. The 14 companies where reporting got worse were marked down on account of deteriorating worker safety or emissions, underpayment of employees and an absence of clear targets in relation to saving water, energy or waste, among other things.