FLASH REPORT: 85% of S&P 500 Index® Companies Publish Sustainability Reports in 2017

NEW YORK, March 20, 2018 -- The Governance & Accountability Institute (G&A) research team has found that 85% of the companies in the S&P 500 Index® published sustainability or corporate responsibility reports in 2017.

Significance:  The S&P Index is one of the most widely-followed barometers of the US economy and conditions for large-cap public companies in the capital markets.

In charting prior years reporting, G&A researchers found that:

• During the year 2011, just under 20% of S&P 500 companies reported on their sustainability, corporate social responsibility, ESG performance and related topics and issues;
• In 2012, 53% of S&P 500 companies were reporting -- for the first time a majority;
• By 2013, 72% were reporting — that is 7-out-of-10 of all companies in the popular benchmark;
• In 2014, 75% of the S&P 500 were publishing reports;
• In 2015, 81% of the total companies were reporting;
• In 2016, 82% signaled a steady embrace by large-cap companies of sustainability reporting;
• And in 2017, the total rose to 85% of companies reporting on ESG performance.

As 2018, just 15% of the S&P 500 were NOT publishing sustainability reports. The practice of reporting by the 500 companies is holding steady with minor increases year-after-year.  Click here to view the chart representing the trends of S&P 500 sustainability reporting over the last seven years: http://www.ga-institute.com/fileadmin/ga_institute/images/FlashReports/2018/G_A-Flash-S_P500-Chart-2018_600px.jpg

COMMENTS
Louis Coppola, EVP & Co-Founder of G&A Institute designs and managed the annual analysis; he notes:  "One of the most powerful driving forces behind the rise in reporting is an increasing demand from all categories of investors for material, relevant, comparable, accurate and decision-useful ESG disclosure from companies they invest in.  Mainstream investors constantly searching for larger returns have come to the conclusion that a company that considers their material Environmental, Social, and Governance opportunities and risks in their long-term strategies will outperform and outcompete those firms that do not.  So it's just a matter now of following the money."

"The proliferation of ESG data providers, rankers, and raters has also matured alongside the demand from investors, and more disclosure from companies.   While our study shows there are still holdouts not reporting, the number steadily shrinks each year as an increasing number of stakeholders demand consideration of ESG in companies mission and strategy setting."

Hank Boerner, Chairman & Co-Founder of the Institute, observed:  "We are in a period of conflicting views on critical issues, such as the effects of climate change, the quest for greater diversity and inclusion, the importance of environmental stewardship, rising expectations for greater accountability of leaders of our institutions, expectations related to product responsibility, and a host of other topics related to corporate accountability. 

“It should be very encouraging to all stakeholders that the largest publicly-traded companies in the United States of America clearly recognize their societal responsibilities and strive now to develop strategies, fine-tune their programs, engage with their stakeholders, improve their overall ESG performance, and enhance their disclosure by publishing sustainability/responsibility/citizenship reports.

THE DIMINISHING NON-REPORTERS AMONG US CORPORATES
View chart presenting the number of companies from each GICS* sector that are choosing not to report on their sustainability opportunities, risks, strategies, actions, programs, and achievements -- implying no focus on sustainability with comparisons from 2014 through 2017: http://www.ga-institute.com/fileadmin/ga_institute/images/FlashReports/2018/G_A-Flash-S_P500-Diminishing-US-Corporate-NonReporters_600px.jpg

Governance & Accountability Institute's GRI Data Partner Report Analyst Research Team of talented analyst interns made significant contributions to this research and we recognize and salute them : http://www.ga-institute.com/fileadmin/ga_institute/images/FlashReports/2018/G_A-Flash-S_P500-ResearchTeam_600px.jpg

ABOUT GOVERNANCE & ACCOUNTABILITY INSTITUTE, INC.
G&A Institute, Inc. is a sustainability consulting firm headquartered in NY, advising corporations and investors on executing winning strategies that maximize return on investment at every step of their sustainability journey. The G&A consulting team helps corporate and investor clients recognize, understand and address sustainability issues to address stakeholder and shareholder concerns.

G&A Institute is the Data Partner for the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) in the US, UK, and Republic of Ireland. The G&A team performs this pro bono work on behalf of GRI. Over 7+ years, G&A has analyzed 6,000+ sustainability reports and catalogued hundreds of important data points for these reports.

G&A’s sustainability-focused consulting/ advisory services fall into three main pillars: Sustainability/ESG Consulting; Communications/Recognitions &  Investor Relations -- https://www.ga-institute.com/services.html

ABOUT THE *S&P 500®: www.spdji.com

CONTACT:
Louis D. Coppola, EVP & Co-Founder
Governance & Accountability Institute, Inc.
646.430.8234 [email protected]