Whether you are a company that measures its sustainability (ESG) performance for altruistic reasons, or are a company that is feeling pressure from your customers (REI, Walmart, D2C), employees or investors, or are preparing for upcoming climate disclosure regulations from the SEC and EU, now is the time to start getting your company’s house in order, but don’t take my word for it. According to a survey from JUST Capital, “Americans overwhelmingly support public disclosure on human capital and environmental impact metrics from America’s largest companies, and endorse federal action to require standardized disclosure, according to new survey research from JUST Capital and its polling partner, SSRS, conducted in collaboration with Public Citizen and Ceres.” The bottom line is that Americans will support brands that align with their values.
Key Takeaways:
“Americans believe it is important that large U.S. companies be transparent about their societal and environmental impact, and support efforts from the federal government to require standard disclosures on human capital and climate impact metrics.
- 85% of Americans agree that companies need to disclose more about their business practices and impact on society.
- 90% of Americans say it is important that there is a common, standardized reporting structure for companies and an average of 87% support the federal government requiring corporate disclosure on human capital and environmental impact data, making performance comparable across companies and/or industries.
- Support for corporate disclosure requirements is strong across various demographic groups, including political, age, and geographic breaks. Even climate, traditionally a more partisan topic, sees 87% support for mandatory disclosure.
- There is nearly universal agreement (nine in 10 agree) that the activities and behaviors of America’s largest companies impact society as a whole.
Over seven years of survey research – both polling and conducting qualitative discussions with the public – JUST Capital has found that Americans perceive that the business operations of large U.S. corporations have downstream consequences for their key stakeholders, including their workers, customers, communities, shareholders, and the environment.”
Sustainability (ESG) and climate disclosures are being driven by big box retailers like REI and Walmart, as well as by government regulation, such as the upcoming SEC and the European Union Climate Reporting Regulations. And now, companies like Patagonia, Sierra Nevada Brewing, Adobe, Microsoft and others “support for SB 253 (Wiener), which would require corporations with more than $1 billion in gross revenues that do business in the state to annually and publicly disclose their GHG emissions.”
My point is that whether you are a small-to-medium brand that wants to do the right thing by measuring and improving your sustainability performance, or even have hopes of being acquired one day, sustainability and climate-related disclosures are here to stay and the sooner you get your house in order, the better. And guess what, doing good is GOOD for business!
Emerger Strategies helps guide your business on its sustainability journey. Whether you are just getting started or are looking to enhance your existing initiatives, we provide comprehensive solutions designed to drive measurable results. Learn more about our Sustainability Consulting Services.