More than 90% of US companies plan to increase reporting emphasis on the Securities and Exchange Commission’s final climate rule despite legal challenges, according to results from the latest research from Persefoni in conjunction with the Financial Education & Research Foundation (FERF).
Meanwhile, nearly 90% intend to enhance reporting efforts under the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive and California’s climate legislation, leading the report to conclude businesses “are still overwhelmingly preparing for climate disclosure”.
The report – Benchmarking Sustainability Reporting 2024 – is based on findings from a collection of surveys distributed to finance professionals from both publicly traded and privately owned companies headquartered in the US. It examines the challenges and impacts of companies transitioning from voluntary to mandatory sustainability reporting, including how regulatory sustainability prioritisation has impacted reporting efforts and how finance functions are evolving in response to new reporting requirements.
Kentaro Kawamori, CEO and co-founder of Persefoni, said: “Our latest report observed a notable increase in the participation of finance professionals in the carbon accounting process. Finance plays a pivotal role in accessing crucial financial and operational data, facilitating swift conversion into carbon emissions insights. Consolidating this data into a unified platform empowers finance professionals to swiftly discern their most significant impacts and strategize decarbonisation initiatives in their carbon accounting journey.”
Elsewhere, 48% of finance teams noted challenges in acquiring Scope 3 data and navigating reporting mandates, while 53% said they were expanding Scope 3 reporting to include new categories.
Some 87% of organisations are ramping up internal reporting capabilities, with 59% integrating carbon data more extensively into risk management reporting.
“Sustainability reporting is one of the most transformative challenges finance professionals are facing today,” added Andrej Suskavcevic, CAE, president and CEO of Financial Executives International and FERF.
“This report specifically addresses what our members need to know to pilot their organisations through ever-evolving informational demands from internal and external stakeholders.”
