Less than half of local firms practice sustainability reporting: study

But the global average is even worse.

In spite of the Singapore Exchange’s efforts to boost sustainability reporting among Singapore firms, it turns out that less than half of companies adhere to these reporting guidelines.

According to a study released today by Grant Thornton, less than half (42%) of domestic companies report on sustainability initiatives, either combined with financial reports or separately.

Though less than the majority, this statistic is still way better compared to figures in 2011 (25%), during which the SGX introduced sustainability reporting guidelines.

The report showed that global average for sustainability is 31%, a slow improvement from 25% in 2011.

“A quarter of Singapore firms (24%) and globally 26% plan to begin reporting externally on sustainability matters in the next five years. (This question was not asked in the previous survey) Overall, more than half (66%) Singapore respondents compared to 59% in 2011 and globally 57% compare to 2011’s 44%, agree that integrated reporting is best practice,” noted the report.