ACSI threatens to name poor ESG reporters
Australian companies are lagging most of the world when it comes to sustainability reporting, and the Australian Council of Superannuation Investors (ACSI) is considering naming the worst offenders.
A research paper released by ACSI reveals only 36 of the companies in the ASX200 are considered 'best practice' sustainability reporters - and 26 of those are in the ASX50.
ACSI chief executive Ann Byrne pointed to separate research, released by KPMG earlier in the year, which shows Australia is ranked twenty-third in the world when it comes the sustainability reporting.
Many Australian companies make commitments to sustainability, but then fail to adequately disclose their performance against their strategy.
Only 57 per cent of Australian companies are reporting on sustainability, putting Australia behind the likes of Russia and China and only just ahead of Bulgaria.
Byrne compared Australia to South Africa, which has a similar stock exchange with a heavy weighting to mining companies.
In 2008, according to the KPMG research, the number of companies reporting on sustainability in both countries was 45 per cent. By 2011, South Africa had jumped to 97 per cent, while Australia is currently sitting at 57 per cent.
ACSI has conducted its report on ASX200 company reporting practices for five years now, Byrne said.
"We've seen a little improvement in the top end, but not in the bottom. We're just letting companies know that we don't like nagging them, but we really think they need to consider about this," she said.
Only 46 of the companies in the AXS200 make reference to the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) in their sustainability reporting, according to ACSI.
"We don't suggest that companies always have to follow [the GRI], but it gives them a good structure. Most of the larger companies do, in fact, look at the GRI and report against it," Byrne said.
She also expressed her support for the Report or Explain campaign, which is set to be unveiled at the UN Conference on Sustainable Development next week.
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